Top Chinese officials to accompany President Xi to India

Symbolising the importance Beijing attaches to ties with New Delhi, China’s President Xi Jinping will bring him with a high-profile entourage that includes two influential members of the politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), the top decision-making body of China.

Senior politburo members, Wang Huning and Li Zhanshu, will be among those who will be accompanying the Chinese president on his maiden visit to India.

Wang Huning, is the director of the policy research office of the central committee of the CPC, an influential party brain trust. Wang is known in policy circles as an archetype Confucian scholar-official and a close confidant of Xi Jinping. He had previously accompanied President Hu Jintao to India in 2012.

A passionate nationalist, Wang has been a speechwriter for three presidents, including Xi. China’s former presidents, Ziang Zemin and Hu Jintao, relied on his policy expertise to articulate their visions.

Wang, a US specialist, is renowned for his ability to translate ideas into concrete policy. He is credited with helping Xi articulate his vision of the “China Dream,” which essentially means rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. He had previously aided Hu in elaborating his initiative to promote a “harmonious society” and “scientific development”, while helping Ziang with his “Three Represents” initiative to amend the party constitution in 2002 to allow private businessmen to join in the economic transformation of China.

Li Zhanshu, who replaced Ling Jihua as chief of the general office of the CPC central committee, is a member of the secretariat of the CPC central committee.

The president’s wife, Peng Liyuan, and state councillor Yang Jiechi, State Councillor and the special representative of China for the boundary talks with India, are also expected to accompany the president.

Xi’s visit to India within the first few months of the new administration in Delhi is meant to underline the mutual desire to bolster trust and deepen partnership between Asia’s leading economies.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese president Xi Jingping, who met each other during the BRICS summit in Forteleza, are expected to hold talks in Delhi on September 18. The talks will culminate in signing of a host of pacts and pledge of a massive investment package by China to shore up infrastructure development in India.

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