Modi-Xi Chennai Summit LIVE Updates: Chinese President lands in Chennai; to leave for Mahabalipuram soon

Chinese President Xi Jinpinghas landed at Chennai Airport on Friday ahead of his 2nd informal summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mahabalipuram, a sleepy, seaside town on the outskirts of the city.

The leaders will discuss bilateral issues and forging a partnership between the two countries.

A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs released ahead of the impending visit said, "The forthcoming Chennai Informal Summit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening the India-China Closer Development Partnership."

Just before Xi's visit to India, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Kahn called on him earlier this week in China and the duo released a joint statement. The statement said that China, which calls itself Pakistan's fair-weather friend, is paying close attention to the developments in the area. It asked India and Pakistan to resolve the matter peacefully.

Here are the Live updates on the second informal summit between the leaders:

The Chinese President arrived at Chennai airport to be welcomed by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit, state chief minister E Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. 

President Xi Jinping has landed at the Chennai Airport ahead of the informal summit with Indian PM Modi. He is welcomed by a cultural performance organised by Kalakshetra, a famous dance school in Chennai. 

Priests from the Mylapore Kapaleshwar Temple have arrived at the Chennai Airport to perform Poorna Kumbahm for Xi Jinping. This is an auspicious ritual and a Chinese translator will be present to explain the significance of the ritual to the Chinese president. 

Five Tibetans were arrested on Friday morning for protesting outside the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be staying for one night on Friday.

President Jinping will have dinner with PM Modi on Friday night and the duo will meet again on Saturday after which the President will leave depart for Nepal in the afternoon. 

This is the second informal summit between Modi and Jinping. The first one was held in Wuhan after the Dokhlam crisis. 

Prime Minister Modi's flight landed at Chennai International Airport and was received by Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswamy. 

Reports have stated that the Chinese President will land in Chennai at 2 PM after which he will travel to Mahabalipuram by road. He will then visit Arjuna's Penance, Panch Rathas and Shore Temple. 

"Now the solid ground has been laid. With the joint efforts of the two sides, President Xi's visit to India will be a full success and set the tone and direction for further growth of bilateral ties and lead to new progress and fruitful results in exchange of cooperation between the two sides," he said. "The meeting will once again send a consistent message of China and India to the whole world and inject stability and positive energy to the world that is full of uncertainty," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui told media on Wednesday. 

The hashtag 'GoBackModi' is trending on social media ahead of the informal meeting on October 11 and 12 in Mahabalipuram. This hashtag trends everytime the Indian prime minister makes a visit to Tamil Nadu. 

There would be no agreements of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) signed on October 11 and 12 due to the informal nature of the meeting. 

The meeting is focussed on strengthening the countries' partnership. The leaders will discuss schedules for the upcoming Special Representative Talks.

The Chinese President will be accompanied by his National Security Advisor and his Foreign Minister Wang Yi. They will be meeting their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and India's NSA Ajit Doval.