A unique relationship requires unique and imaginative ways to manage differences. The second “informal summit” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping that begins on Friday is one such way for the two countries to deal with the ebb and flow in ties. The leaders last held an informal summit in Wuhan, in the wake of the Doklam crisis, when the time they spent visibly improved the atmospherics around the relationship. Optics closer to the summit have been more troublesome, and Mr. Xi’s invitation to the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Beijing in the same week that Mr. Xi meets Mr. Modi is clearly a negative signal ahead of the Chennai summit. As a result, Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi have their task cut out for them: in restoring some of the bonhomie from last year, while charting a course for ties ahead.

Source: The Hindu October 10, 2019 18:22 UTC