Trade, Border Dispute Likely To Dominate Modi-Xi Talks

No joint statement, MoUs or agreements are expected after informal summit

- Suhasini Haidar, Dennis S. Jesudasan

Trade issues, boundary disputes and multilateral cooperation are expected to dominate the “informal summit” at Mamallapuram as the seaside resort on the outskirts of Chennai prepares to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and Saturday.

Mr. Xi will land in Chennai past 2 p.m. — about two hours after Mr. Modi. He will head to the Mamallapuram temple complex for an evening with Mr. Modi, which will include a tour of the monuments and a dance performance at the Shore Temple at sunset, followed by dinner. On Saturday, the talks will be more structured and will include time for a “oneon-one” meeting, followed by delegation-level talks.

Beyond formalities

“The objective is to ensure that the communication between the leaders is one which is routinised, easy going and indicates that President Xi Jinping and PM Modi are getting down to business in an informal way, not simply at a structured meeting where prepared statements are read out in a much more practical way,” a senior official, briefing the media about the expectations from the summit, had said.