LIVE: Narendra Modi takes Chinese President Xi Jinping on stroll along Sabarmati River

Modi set aside protocol and received Xi, who arrived in Ahmedabad from Colombo. Both leaders smiled, shook hands and waved at those who had gathered at Hotel Hyatt.

Listen to Story

Advertisement
LIVE: Narendra Modi takes Chinese President Xi Jinping on stroll along Sabarmati River
Xi Jinping with PM Narendra Modi at Sabarmati Ashram.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi at Sabarmati riverfront.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi at Sabarmati riverfront.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reached Ahmedabad on Wednesday for his three-day visit to India that will focus on building closer relations with the world's second-largest economy. The Chinese president was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad.

Here are the live updates:

advertisement

06:15 pm: Narendra Modi takes Chinese President Xi Jinping on stroll along Sabarmati River.

05:45 pm: PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reach Sabarmati riverfront.

05:08 pm: PM Narendra Modi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sabarmati Ashram.

04:55 pm: Modi and Xi would hold talks on Thursday which would be followed by the signing of several agreements, including on infrastructure and railways, between the two sides.

PM Narendra Modi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sabarmati Ashram.
PM Narendra Modi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sabarmati Ashram.
04:50 pm: Three MoUs signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

1. MoU establishing 'Sister Province' relations between Guangdong, China and Gujarat, India which covers cooperation in economy and trade, environmental protection, public policy education, health, science and technology, tourism and culture.

2. MoU between the cities of Guangzhou, China and Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India for closer cooperation between the local authorities of the two cities, which will facilitate engagements in the fields of economy and trade, environment protection, public policy, education, health, science and technology, tourism and culture. Knowledge sharing will be done through delegation visits, institutional meetings and sharing of experiences in areas of mutual interest.

PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sabarmati riverfront.
PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sabarmati riverfront.

3. MoU between Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb), the nodal agency of Government of Gujarat for investment promotion, and China Development Bank, under which iNDEXTb will assist Chinese investors in obtaining required clearances and creating infrastructure facilities in the industrial parks.

04:49 pm: Pact to set up an industrial park in Gujarat inked in presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

04:41 pm: India and China ink sister city pact between Guangzhou in China and Ahmedabad.

04:30 pm: India and China sign bilateral agreements.

Chinese President Xi Jinping with PM Narendra Modi at Sabarmati Ashram.
Chinese President Xi Jinping with PM Narendra Modi at Sabarmati Ashram.
04:16 pm: PM Narendra Modi interacts with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.

04:00 pm: Modi set aside protocol and received Xi, who arrived in Ahmedabad from Colombo. Both leaders smiled, shook hands and waved at those who had gathered at Hotel Hyatt.

advertisement

03:46 pm: PM Narendra Modi welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in Ahmedabad.

PM Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
PM Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
03: 44 pm: PM Narendra Modi arrives to welcome Chinese President Xi JInping at a hotel in Ahmedabad.

03: 00 pm: Guard of honour given to Chinese President Xi Jinping at Ahmedabad airport.

02: 45 pm: Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at Ahmedabad airport

02:44 pm: Chinese President Xi Jinping reaches Ahmedabad.

PM Narendra Modi greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.
PM Narendra Modi greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is celebrating his 64th birthday on Wednesday, reached Ahmedabad on Tuesday to formally welcome Jinping, the first Chinese president to visit India since 2006.

Modi had earlier said that visiting heads of states should travel beyond New Delhi and see smaller towns to understand the country's diversity better.

What events have been planned in Ahmedabad to welcome the Chinese president?

Chinese President Xi Jinping with PM Narendra Modi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping with PM Narendra Modi.

Ahmedabad has decked up to receive the Chinese leader. A red carpet welcome and Gujarati culture and cuisine await Xi during his six-hour visit to the state.

advertisement

While in Ahmedabad, Xi is to visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram and spend some time there along with Modi, who will also share a moonlight dinner with Xi in a luxury tent on the banks of the Sabarmati river.

The Sabarmati riverfront is a pet project of Modi, who as Gujarat chief minister developed it on the line of the Thames river of London. Several international mega events like kite festival, and Navratri festival have been organised at the riverfront.

As many as 150 Gujarati dishes are on the menu for the dinner, being prepared by a team of experts from different parts of Gujarat and the Taj Hotel team from Mumbai and Delhi. Modi's personal cook Badri will oversee the food section.

In the evening, the two leaders will leave for Delhi.

What are the highlights of the Modi-Xi meet in New Delhi?

On Thursday, Modi and Xi would hold talks at Hyderabad House which would be followed by the inking of several agreements, including on infrastructure and railways, between the two sides.

PM Narendra Modi interacts with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.
PM Narendra Modi interacts with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.

Among the accords expected to be signed during Xi's visit here is a sister city agreement between Ahmedabad and China's developed Guangdong province.

advertisement

Jinping's visit, days after Modi's successful trip to Japan, is likely to boost investment worth billions of dollars in railways, industrial parks and roads.

In a little more than 100 days since he came to power, Modi has engaged in what the NDA government describes as "an intensive state of global engagement", reaching out to smaller neighbours and clasping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a bear hug on his first major trip outside South Asia.

Is the India-China border dispute going to figure in the talks?

PM Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in Ahmedabad.
PM Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in Ahmedabad.

Business ties between India and China may be growing fast, but relations between the two countries are also defined by competition for energy and regional clout, as well as a festering border dispute that led to a war 52 years ago.

India has firmly told Beijing that it would defend its 3,500-km border with China after reports of a new face-off on the border emerged. More than 200 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army reportedly crossed into the Indian territory in Ladakh earlier this week and tried to build a 2-km road at the Chumur sector.

In a sign that the Modi government wants the Xi visit to be a success, it asked the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to reschedule an event in New Delhi so that it would not clash with the Chinese president's trip on Friday.

The Dalai Lama, who Beijing labels a separatist seeking an independent Tibet, has lived in India since fleeing across the Himalayas after a failed uprising in his homeland in 1959.