Modi accorded grand reception before his talks with Chinese PM

Beijing, May 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today accorded grand reception at the Great Hall of People here when he arrived for talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the second day of his visit to China.

Together with Li, he inspected the guard of honour and then settled for formal talks with him during which the two sides were expected to discuss a host of issues including the border issue as well as Chinese investments in India. Several agreements were expected to signed after Modi-Li talks.

This is the second round of talks Modi is having with the Chinese leadership during his current three-day China trip. Yesterday, he had over five hours of informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which all the contentious issues including the border issue were discussed.

Today's talks were the extension of yesterday's Modi-Xi talks. Modi arrived here last night from Xi'an. After series of meetings today including an address to the students of Tsinghua university and attending the demonstration of Yoga-Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art, along with Li, he would head to Shanghai this evening.

Tomorrow, he would meet a number of CEOs of top Chinese companies, address India-China Business Forum, open the first Gandhian studies centre at Fudan university and address Indian community in Shanghai after which he will leave for Mongolia.

PTI