New | Dalai Lama hails Xi Jinping as ‘more open-minded’ amid India talks

The Dalai Lama hailed Xi Jinping as “more open-minded” on Thursday as the president held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rare visit to India.

“Xi Jinping’s approach [is] more realistic, more open-minded” than that of his Chinese predecessor Hu Jintao, the Tibetan spiritual leader said in Mumbai.

“Xi Jinping’s thinking [is] more realistic, more open-minded, so he can learn more things from India,” he continued.

“After all, Sino-India relations on the basis on new trust is very important, very essential.”

He made the comments as the two political leaders held talks in New Delhi as part of Xi’s three-day visit to India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since 1959.

The presence in India of the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule there, is a source of tension between the two giant Asian rivals.