Taking China-India ties to new heights

Starting his second term in office, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a second China-India informal summit in Varanasi later this year. Varanasi is not only a culturally important city for Indians and one of the oldest cities in the world but also the constituency that elected Modi to parliament.

After being sworn in for the second time as India's prime minister on Thursday, Modi is likely to have his first "structured" talks with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, in June.

China has been viewed in India as far more positively inclined to engage with Modi during his second term in office. Even before the full results of the recent elections were declared, the Chinese media welcomed Modi's return to office. In the midst of India's exhausting six-week-long elections, Beijing's diplomatic and strategic moves helped Modi assert his anti-terrorism policy and reinforced memories of the informal summit in Wuhan, Hubei province, in April last year, which showcased the personal chemistry of the two Asian leaders.