China leader lands in India for 3-day trade visit

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has landed in the Indian prime minister's home state of Gujarat for a three-day visit expected to boost trade between the two Asian giants.

Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi planned to attend an evening banquet on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, the main financial city of the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Xi was greeted on the tarmac Wednesday by a throng of news photographers and state officials carrying fringed umbrellas to guard him from the sun.

The Chinese leader arrived in Gujarat after visits earlier this week to Sri Lanka and Maldives, both traditional allies of India who have unnerved New Delhi by growing closer to Beijing.

Modi is expected to court Chinese business and seek investment to upgrade creaky infrastructure.