China rolls out red carpet for Narendra Modi

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/China-rolls-out-red-carpet-for-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/10661600.cms

BEIJING: The Communist Party of China is paying close attention to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to meet CPC leaders on five different occasions during the four days he will spend in the country from Wednesday.

There are signs that the Chinese leaders would like to form their own opinion on Modi, who has been described as a future prime minister by several Indian industrialists. As recently as September this year, a US Congressional research had described Modi’s Gujarat as a key driver of India’s growth.

Modi will meet “a top leader” of the CPC at the Great Hall of the People. The leader has not been specified. But this is the venue where foreign visitors are greeted by China’s president, premier or chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, which is the Chinese parliament.

Meetings with senior CPC leaders are bound to help Modi cement business ties because industry leaders in China usually look for signals from the party and government before signing major business deals, said informed sources. The visit comes soon after Modi announced the world’s tallest Buddhist stupa in Gujarat.

Modi will visit the international department of the CPC central committee, which acts as a bridge between the party and political parties across the world. He will meet the mayor and party secretary of two major cities, Beijing and Shanghai. His appointments include dinner with a senior CPC leader of Sichuan province on November 11 and a meeting with the Sichuan governor at Chengdu the next day.

Modi will visit a research centre of Huawei Technologies, which is facing scrutiny by the central government concerning its telecom equipment supplies.

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