Cheers for Modi reflect closer links

Our relations have developed steadily, Xi says as he hosts premier at banquet in hometown

Visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed a festive day in Xi'an on Thursday, with President Xi Jinping accompanying him as people cheered the two leaders wherever they went.

"This is the first time I have received a foreign leader in my hometown," the president told Modi at the start of their meeting. It is also very rare for China's top leaders to accompany foreign guests outside the capital.