China's President Xi to make first visit to India

Published September 9, 2014
China's President Xi Jinping. — Photo by Reuters
China's President Xi Jinping. — Photo by Reuters

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first visit to India as head of state on a regional visit starting this week which will also take in Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Tajikistan, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Xi will begin his trip in Tajikistan where he will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on Thursday and Friday, the ministry said.

China, Russia and four Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — formed the group in 2001 as a regional security bloc to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighbouring Afghanistan.

After that Xi will travel to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India, on a visit which ends on Sept. 19, the ministry said, without giving exact dates for when he will be in each country.

The ministry provided no further details, though over the weekend it said that Xi had postponed a trip to Pakistan which had originally been part of his tour due to ongoing unrest in the country.

From economic parity in 1980, China's growth has outstripped India's fourfold and Beijing has sought to recycle some of its vast export surpluses into foreign investments in resources and infrastructure in South Asia to feed its industrial machine.

That rising economic presence in the Indian Ocean region has stoked concerns in New Delhi that China is creating a “string of pearls” that surrounds India and threatens its security.

While China and India have close economic and historical links, there is deep suspicion too, fuelled in part by a festering border dispute.

Asian great-power diplomacy has stirred to life since the rise to power of Indian nationalist Narendra Modi, who announced his intent to play an active role on the world stage by inviting regional leaders to his inauguration in May.

Although Modi seeks pragmatic economic engagement with China, in Tokyo earlier this month he criticised countries with an “expansionist” mindset, a coded jibe against Beijing's assertive behaviour in Southeast Asia.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began visits to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram ‘roadmap’
Updated 25 Dec, 2024

Kurram ‘roadmap’

The state must provide ironclad guarantees that the local population will be protected from all forms of terrorism.
Snooping state
25 Dec, 2024

Snooping state

THE state’s attempts to pry into citizens’ internet activities continue apace. The latest in this regard is a...
A welcome first step
25 Dec, 2024

A welcome first step

THE commencement of a dialogue between the PTI and the coalition parties occupying the treasury benches in ...
High troop losses
Updated 24 Dec, 2024

High troop losses

Continuing terror attacks show that our counterterrorism measures need a revamp. Localised IBOs appear to be a sound and available option.
Energy conundrum
24 Dec, 2024

Energy conundrum

THE onset of cold weather in the country has brought with it a familiar woe: a severe shortage of piped gas for...
Positive cricket change
24 Dec, 2024

Positive cricket change

HEADING into their Champions Trophy title defence, Pakistan are hitting the right notes. Mohammad Rizwan’s charges...