“[Xi’an is] not an ordinary city. [It is] not an ordinary welcome. PM Narendra Modi is being greeted at Xi’an airport,” Vikas Swarup, spokesperson from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted earlier in the morning.
It is rare for Chinese leaders to welcome foreign guests outside Beijing. Ahead of the visit, Modi had underscored that on his newly opened microblog account on Chinese social media: "President Xi invited me to visit his hometown".
Modi said in a weibo post that he had hosted Xi in his hometown in Gujarat last September and now the Chinese president invited him to his hometown.
On Thursday, the 64-year-old Indian leader will be greeted with a high-level reception with a Tang Dynasty flavor to it. It is there that he will meet President Xi Jinping.
While in Xi’an, Modi will visit the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum and the Dayan Pagoda, which is home to the translation of the Buddhist texts by Chinese monk Xuanzang (602-664) who had journeyed to India to learn Buddhism.
During the visit, the two countries are expected to close more than 20 deals covering cooperation in trade, outer space and culture and entertainment, along with discussing India’s role in the Beijing-backed international bank AIIB and the Belt and Road Initiatives, Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha said.
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