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Modi to talk business during parleys with Xi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Goa on Saturday to discuss bilateral ties that are under strain over Beijing
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Goa on Saturday to discuss bilateral ties that are under strain over Beijing opposing India’s entry to NSG and blocking efforts to get Jaish chief Masood Azhar declared a terrorist by the UN.
The two leaders, who met during the G20 summit in China in September, will hold talks on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS summit that opens on October 15 in the coastal state.
While Modi would seek Xi’s cooperation in ironing out the recent irritants in ties, the focus would be on increasing Chinese investment from $2 billion now to $20 billion by 2019, government sources said.
The two are also expected to discuss ways to ensure peace on the line of actual control by avoiding incursions from either side, a constant irritant in the ties.
Modi met his diplomatic advisers on Wednesday to discuss the framework of his engagement with Xi.
Chinese investment in India has grown 400% in the last two years. Shanghai-based Fosum Pharma recently acquired 86% stake in Hyderabad-based Gland Pharma for $1.86 billion, the biggest Chinese investment in India till date.
India is looking to attract Chinese investments worth $4 billion in 2017. China which was number 27 on the list of foreign investors has climbed up 10 places in the last two years.
New Delhi is banking on personal equation between Modi and Xi to give a push to trade and investment, notwithstanding divergent views on a range of issues.
China wants India to engage Pakistan over Masood Azhar before it gives up its opposition to the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief being designated a terrorist by the UN, which would lead to freezing of his accounts and a travel ban.
Early this month, Beijing extended its “technical hold”, or virtual veto, on India’s submission to include Azhar in the UN list. New Delhi blames Jaish for several terror strikes, including the January attack on Pathankot airbase.
China recently said it was blocking a tributary of the Brahmaputra river to build a hydroelectric project in Tibet. India is now pushing the Upper Siang power projects in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing also wants New Delhi to keep out of the South China Sea dispute.
China has led opposition to India joining the nuclear suppliers group, a 48-member elite club that controls global nuclear trade.
