Chennai leads race to host next month's Modi-Xi meet

New Delhi: Mahabalipuram near Chennai has emerged as the frontrunner among the probable venues of the second informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be held in October this year. The other probable venues are Varanasi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. This newspaper was the first to report in its July 22 edition that Chennai was among the venues under active consideration.

The second informal summit will be held in October and the venue is still being finalised between the two governments. The first informal meet was held in the central Chinese industrial city of Wuhan last year.

Mahabalipuram is home to the ancient Hindu temples built by the Pallava dynasty near modern Chennai way back in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. It is a Unesco world heritage site.

As reported by this newspaper in July, a runway big enough for the aircraft carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping and his large high-powered delegation to land directly from Beijing is one of the key parameters when the Indian and Chinese side jointly decide the venue.

China’s new ambassador to India Sun Weidong said on Tuesday that China would resolve disputes with other countries based on “negotiations and mutual respect”. The ambassador, in a veiled reference to the disputes between China and India, said any “differences” that crop up must be “properly handled”. He said the Chinese government places great importance on ties with India. “Peace is the precondition before development and without peace it is difficult,” the ambassador said. He added that ties between the two countries rested on “transmitting, shaping and integrating” ties by “highlighting guidance of the two leaders” (President Xi and PM Modi). On Hong Kong, the Chinese ambassador said “violence would not be tolerated” and that “all countries recognise China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong”. He added that China would not allow external forces to interfere in Hong Kong.