Modi connects to China via Sina Weibo

Ahead of his visit to China, India’s Net-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to the Chinese people by joining Seino Weibo, the Chinese version of microblogging site twitter that counts over 150 million active users

Mr Modi also became the first Indian leader to create an account on Weibo, which has a huge following among China’s youth. Before Mr Modi, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron was the only foreign leader to boast a Sina Weibo account.

“Hello China! Looking forward to interacting with Chinese friends through Weibo,” said the prime minister in his first post.

Within an hour of his joining the account, he received more than 7000 hits, with many praising and welcoming him on the most popular social media platform in China. He received many reactions from his followers, with one post praising him as “handsome” and the other saying: “One more international personality joined Weibo.”

Mr Modi is perhaps the most wired Indian leader and often uses social media platforms to break news and announce his policies. He has 12 million followers on his Twitter handle and boasts 28 million followers for his Facebook account.

Mr Modi is set to go on a three-day visit to China on May 14, a potentially historic visit that could pitch India-China relations onto a higher trajectory.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.