PM Singh meets Chinese president at BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margin of the BRICS Summit in Durban, in the first structured high-level contact between the two countries since the change of leadership in China.

The bilateral meeting between Singh and Xi late on Wednesday night took place on the sidelines of the BRICS countries Summit which the two leaders attended.

Ahead of the bilateral meet, the two leaders had met informally during the Summit when Xi told the PM that he was aware of his (Singh's) good relationship with Xi's immediate predecessor Hu Jintao and former Prime Minister Wei and would like to continue the relationship.

Xi last week had warm words about the relationship with India and said he was looking forward to the meeting with Singh.

The informal meeting between Singh and Xi during the Summit came ahead of their structured interaction.

Xi told the PM that he was aware of his (Singh's) good relationship with Xi's immediate predecessor Hu Jintao and former Prime Minister Wei and would like to continue the relationship.