Modi to boost ties with China

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When Narendra Modi wooed investors in China as an Indian provincial leader in 2011,he highlighted his eagerness by making a special gesture.

He presented a business card with one side in Chinese and in red – the color that symbolizes wealth and good fortune in China.

With Modi taking the oath of office as India's new prime minister on Monday, such attention to China is expected to be repeated.

Modi, 63, led his Bharativa Janata party to an electoral landslide this month on a wave of optimism over his ability to revitalize Asia's third-biggest economy. Closer economic ties with India's top trading partner, China, will be high on his agenda, analysts said.

Much of China's $900 million investment in India is in Gujarat, where Modi served as athree-time chief minister and the state was dubbed "India's Guangdong".

Analysts said Modi's ties with China and his focus on restoring the fortunes of the world’s second-most populous nation would temper his hardline nationalist approach.

Modi has softened his stance somewhat since his stunning victory and surprised manyby inviting Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration. It was the first time since the two countries won independence in 1947 that a prime minister from one nation had attended such a ceremony in the other.

On Monday, Premier Li Keqiang sent congratulations to Modi and expressed willingness to improve ties with India.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a daily news conference that China waslooking forward to working with the Modi administration to boost cooperation and regional peace and stability.

Questions:

1. Who is the new prime minister of India?

2. Which country is India’s top trading partner?

3. Who is the prime minister of Pakistan?

For more audio news, log onto Language Tips at chinadaily.com.cn

Answers:

1. Narendra Modi.

2. China

3. Nawaz Sharif.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.