30,000 followers for India’s premier
Print Edition
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first visit to China next week to meet Chinese leaders during a three-day visit as part of an Asian tour that will also take him to South Korea and Mongolia, the Indian government said yesterday. China confirmed the visit.
Modi is eager to secure Chinese funding for crumbling infrastructure and other projects after storming to power last May on a pledge to reform and revive Asia’s third-largest economy.
Ahead of the visit, Modi joined Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
“I’m looking forward to my visit to China from May 14 to 16 to enhance the friendship between our two ancient civilizations and the largest developing countries,” he wrote yesterday. “I firmly believe this visit to China will strengthen the stability, development and prosperity of Asia.”
Modi is an avid user of social media and has 12 million followers on Twitter.
By yesterday morning he had accumulated nearly 30,000 Weibo followers.
Modi, whose time as chief minister of Gujarat was marred by riots that saw at least 1,000 people killed, devoted his second Weibo post to Buddhism.
“I wish everyone happiness on Buddha’s birthday. Today we remember Buddha’s ideals and missions. He preached the ideals of harmony and brotherhood and had a vision of a peaceful world.
“Buddhism is a unifying force connecting Asian countries. It can be one form of strong cohesion to turn this century into the Asian era,” he said. Both his posts were written in Chinese.
President Xi Jinping visited India in September when the leaders of the world’s two most populous countries emphasized cooperation and deals such as funding for railways.
Modi will travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an before becoming the first Indian premier to visit Mongolia. He will then head to South Korea for talks with President Park Geun-hye and business leaders.
Since winning power, Modi has tried to strengthen relations with India’s neighbors, along with the United States.
Modi said he will meet business leaders in Shanghai and promote India among Chinese investors.
China is India’s biggest trading partner with two-way commerce totaling close to US$70 billion. But India’s trade deficit with China has soared from just US$1 billion in 2001-02 to more than US$40 billion, Indian figures show.
Economic experts say that Modi must bridge the deficit by seeking greater access to the Chinese market, with the two sides targeting annual bilateral trade of US$100 billion this year.
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