Mamallapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sit down in the 7th century Shore Temple complex overlooking the Bay of Bengal in this bustling ancient town on Friday in an attempt to reconfigure ties strained by tough talk on the Kashmir issue by both sides.
A red-carpet welcome awaits Xi when he arrives here around 5 pm with both the state and the central government agencies pulling out all stops to deck up the coastal town which had strong historical linkages with China's Fujian province.
Ahead of the two-day summit, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said that a "new set of consensus" including "guiding principles" on giving a new direction to the bilateral ties are expected from engagement.
Officials said Xi would arrive at the Chennai airport around 2 pm and then head off to a luxury hotel. At 5 pm, Modi will take Xi to three iconic monuments of Mamallapuram -Arjuna's Penance, Panch Rathas and the Shore temple. Then the two leaders will witness a cultural programme at the temple complex.
They will sit together in the lawns of the Shore temple and exchange views on charting a new roadmap of development and cooperation. Then, the prime minister will host a private dinner for Xi at the temple complex.
On Saturday, the two leaders will have a one-on-one meeting at the Fisherman's Cove resort which will be followed by delegation-level talks. After the talks, Modi will host a lunch for Xi, and the Chinese leader will leave for Chennai airport at 12:45 pm, they said.
All the monuments in Mamallapuram to be visited by Xi were spruced up while colourful gates have been erected along the routes from Chennai to this coastal city.
Traditional arches made of banana trees and sugarcane have been put up in front of the hotel where Xi will stay.
An unprecedented security cover has been put in place in and around Mamallapuram, which has inconvenienced people in the town as well as tourists.
The informal summit is taking place amid renewed strain in ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue. A joint statement issued after talks between President Xi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said China is paying "close attention" to the situation in the Kashmir and that it should be adequately and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter. ( With PTI inputs)