China Connect

Modi invokes Buddha bonding between India and China

- by India Writes Network

Buddha bonding is set to complement the burgeoning business ties between India and China. Imparting a cultural flavour to his forthcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invoked Buddhism as an age-old connector between the two Asian neighbours and has highlighted Buddhist connections of his home state Gujarat.

“Buddhism is a very strong bond between China & India. In fact, Gujarat too has a very rich Buddhist heritage,” tweeted Modi on September 15.

An article was also posted on the prime minister’s website in English and Mandarin, which showcases the rich “Buddhist heritage in Gujarat”.

A day before he meets the Chinese president in Ahamedabad, Modi underlined the linkages between his hometown of Vadnagar and the famous Chinese explorer and Buddhist priest Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) who “noted the presence of Buddhist monasteries, monks in parts of Gujarat”.

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Xi Jinping’s visit: India hopes for ‘directional change’ in ties with China

- by India Writes Network

Ahead of the much-publicised visit by China’s President Xi Jinping to India, the two emerging Asian powers have struck an optimistic note that the forthcoming trip by the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong will positively transform relations between the two Asian giants.

The Chinese president is scheduled to begin his three-day visit to India September 17, which has coincided with the birthday of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The choice of Ahamedabad, the capital of Modi’s home state Gujarat, as the first leg of his India visit underlines the keen desire of the Chinese leader to forge close equations with the business-friendly Indian leader.

Sino-Indian relations will see a “directional change” with Xi Jinping’s visit to the country next week, said India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on September 10.

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Development, not expansionism, says Modi with China on mind

- by India Writes Network

In an oblique reference to perceived Chinese assertiveness in the region, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned against the tendency towards “expansionism”, and pitched for closer ties between India and Japan to help fructify a peaceful Asian century.

“We have to decide if we want to have ‘vikas vaad’ (development) or ‘vistar vaad’ (expansionism) which leads to disintegration,” said Modi while speaking to business titans of India and Japan in Tokyo.

“Those who follow the path of Buddha and have faith in ‘vikas vaad’, they develop. But we see, those having ideas of the 18th century, engage in encroachments and enter seas (of others),” said Modi on September 1, at a business luncheon with a delegation of Japan’s top industry leaders in Tokyo.

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