China to have first ever centre dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi during Modi visit
The centre will be launched at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, shortly before the Prime Minister concludes his visit with a community reception.
A first ever centre dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in China will be opened next week on Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Shanghai, the last city on this three-day tour to China.
The centre for Gandhian studies will be launched by Modi on Saturday afternoon at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, shortly before the Prime Minister concludes his visit with a community reception.
Modi will begin his three-day visit in Xi'an on Thursday with talks with President Xi Jinping, before travelling to Beijing.
Chinese officials have said this will mark the first instance of China's President travelling out of Beijing to welcome a visiting leader to his home province of Shaanxi. Xi will be reciprocating Modi's gesture of hosting him in Gujarat last September.
While top of Modi's agenda is taking forward economic cooperation, from seeking greater Chinese investment to pushing for market access to address the trade imbalance, as well as the boundary issue, a renewed public diplomacy and soft power push to raise India's profile in China is also on the cards.
Modi on Monday opened an account on the Chinese Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo, a platform he will use to post frequent updates about his visit to the Chinese public. While Modi is an active user of Twitter, the site is blocked in China.
As of Saturday, Modi's following on Weibo had crossed 45,000 while his first post received 13 million hits.
Interestingly, among Modi's followers is a widely popular Xi Jinping fans' group, which is seen by some Chinese social media analysts as a semi-official account linked to the Chinese President.
Modi is also attempting to tap the rising Chinese interest in yoga during his visit. In Beijing on Friday, Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will preside over a unique joint demonstration of yoga and Chinese Tai chi at the iconic Temple of Heaven.
The Prime Minister will also preside over a ceremony to mark the setting up of a yoga college in China, which will come up in southwestern Yunnan's University of Nationalities.