Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad

There were many firsts on Wednesday when PM Narendra Modi received Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad. It was the first time an Indian prime minister received a foreign head of state outside Delhi. There was also a departure from the tradition of signing international agreements in the national capital. Modi made the exception because he wanted to showcase Ahmedabad’s development to Xi. And then, President Xi became the first Chinese leader to be feted at a civic reception in six decades. Zhou Enlai was the last to have been accorded a public reception in India in 1954. Relations, which had nosedived after the 1962 war, improved in the later years but not to the extent where an Indian leader would make a public show of engagement with a neighbour of which people remain wary . Though Narendra Modi’s prime ministership is only months old, his engagement with China has been deep since he was Gujarat CM. Also, unlike the US, China did not ostracize him over the 2002 riots.
Continuing border tensions, especially the stand-off in Ladakh, could not come in the way of the public display of warmth. The chemistry between the two leaders was evident as they chatted continuously and looked completely relaxed in each other’s company. They visited the Gandhi Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati and later walked down the riverfront, a pet project of Modi when he was CM.
Gujarati pride brimmed over as Xi began his India visit from Ahmedabad— a city which has never hosted a head of state — with a six-hour tour, guided by an elated Modi celebrating his 64th birthday.
A Swiss luxury tent was the venue for a lavish vegetarian dinner for Xi and the Chinese first lady, Peng Liyuan.
After Xi and his delegation were received at the airport by CM Anandiben Patel and governor O P Kohli, Xi arrived at the Hyatt Hotel to a warm welcome by Modi, who was waiting at the porch for him. In the afternoon, Xi was seen sporting a white sleeveless Nehru jacket, gifted by Modi, which the PM has already adopted as his fashion mantra.
In his trademark short sleeved kurta, Modi and Xi strolled along the now clean Sabarmati front, walking through a park punctuated by colourful Gujarati dance and music pageants. The Chinese first couple was also treated to a swing in a traditional Gujarati “jhoola” with an indulgent Modi looking on.
Liyuan, a superstar singer in China, also seemed completely bowled over. She skipped the visit to the ashram, where her husband garlanded a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and also took some lessons from Modi on how to spin the charkha.
Before they left for Delhi in the evening for further bilateral talks on Thursday, three significant pacts were signed between the two countries which will bolster Chinese investments in Gujarat, a state which has a recorded trade history with China dating back centuries. Xi’s visit was of course Modi’s way of showcasing to the world his vibrant home-state.
Xi was flying in from maiden visits to Maldives and Sri Lanka, two countries in India’s backyard with whom India maintains close strategic and economic ties. The visits may have raised the spectre of greater Chinese involvement in these countries proving to be a challenge to India. But just as Xi was landing in Ahmedabad, President Pranab Mukherjee was returning from a three-day visit to Vietnam, a key Indian partner in China’s own backyard, a sign that India can play the game as well as China.