Modi and China: Old friends, new challenges
Incoming Indian leader forged bond with Beijing while chief of Gujarat state. Now the challenge is engaging him in his new role
As Narendra Modi sweeps into power, China will be counting the potential pay-off from a personal relationship, but his new status may also require a different strategy to engage an old friend.
Over the years, China and Modi have invested heavily in each other and forged a bond that could have far-reaching ramifications not only for Sino-Indian relations, but also for the US "Asia pivot" strategy at a time when territorial disputes in the South China Sea are taking a violent turn.
The hope generated by that bond was reflected in the way Chinese state media chose to downplay Modi's outburst about China's "expansionist mindset" in a recent election rally as necessary poll-time bluster.
China will need a very different strategy and to cut [Modi] a lot more slack
"Despite Modi's election rhetoric as a leading Hindu nationalist, Chinese diplomats expect him and his Bharatiya Janata Party - known for its tough stance on China - to change course," said Jack Linchuan Qiu, an associate professor at Hong Kong's Chinese University.
Long before Modi fashioned himself as a national leader, Beijing's talent scouts zeroed in on him when he began to reach out to China for investment in the western Indian state of Gujarat, of which Modi was chief minister.
The initial attraction was his pro-business approach and a no-nonsense administrative style that makes the state a rare investor-friendly island in a sea of bureaucratic sloth. But Beijing was also acutely aware that, as a rising star in India's then main opposition party, Modi brought more to the table than an investor's paradise, and began to cultivate him.
Modi has visited China four times. In 2011, he made a particularly high-profile five-day trip in which he was accorded a welcome generally reserved for heads of state. For his part, Modi carried red visiting cards printed in Chinese.
Beijing also heeded his request and freed most of 19 Gujaratis who had been arrested in Shenzhen on charges of diamond smuggling, boosting Modi's image at home.