MAHABALIPURAM: Chinese President Xi Jinping will be spending around three and a half hours on the road during the second India-China informal summit here on Friday and Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In all, Jinping will spend six hours with Prime Minister Modi.
The Chinese President arrived in Chennai at around 2 pm Friday. He will move to ITC Grand Chola in Guindy and spend two hours there before proceeding to Mahabalipuram where he will be welcomed by the Prime Minister. Xi will return to Chennai in the night after a dinner wth PM Modi.
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On Saturday, the Chinese President will depart at 9.05 am for Taj Fisherman's Cove where the Prime Minister is staying and meet him around 10 am. The meeting is likely to last for two hours and 45 minutes after which he will leave for Chennai airport directly and depart at around 1.30 pm.
Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the discussion between the two leaders could focus on various issues pertaining to border security and also trade. "The focus could be on high speed rail, singalling system and also on Chennai smart city," said Kondapalli.
He added that the informal summit provides manoeuvrability and flexibility. The talks will focus on strategic communication between the two leaders, new confidence-building measures, border stability and reducing the trade deficit between the two countries.