Analysis | Modi-Xi bonhomie to be tested by ‘irritants’, but global pressures may yet prompt tighter embrace

The Indian and Chinese leaders are expected to meet this weekend for their second informal summit in little more than a year

Though military drills and Kashmir threaten to sour the event, wider geopolitical challenges could push the pair closer together

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Xi and Modi in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in September 2014. Photo: AP

Published: 7:00am, 8 Oct 2019Updated: 10:54pm, 8 Oct 2019

Hectic preparations are under way in the southern Indian coastal town of Mamallapuram ahead of an expected two-day informal summit this weekend between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Invitations have been sent out for ceremonial dinners, restrictions on residents have been announced, the town is being spruced up, and eight ethnic Tibetans have been arrested to prevent them from staging protests over Beijing’s policies.

But a shroud of “irritants” now threatens to engulf the meeting. In the last week a string of diplomatic disputes has emerged between the two countries, and with just four days to go, neither nation had yet been willing to formally announce the summit as of Monday night, though the Indian government did begin registration procedures for local journalists.

In contrast, when Xi and Modi met last April in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, former Indian minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a joint address in Beijing a few days before the event to announce it, and Swaraj then met Xi the next day.

Indian army personnel keep watch at Bumla pass at the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: AFP

The delay this time has given rise to speculation of fresh problems that could be creasing up the foreheads of Indian and Chinese officials. There have been indicators already.