Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping Sunday left for Brazil to attend the 6th BRICS summit during which he would have his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on its sidelines.
Besides Brazil, he would also visit Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba during this leg of his Latin American tour.
On his way to Brazil, Xi will have technical stopover at Greek island of Rhodes where he would meet Greek President Karolos Papoulias and other leaders.
This is the second visit of a top Chinese leader to Greece in a month. Premier Li Keqiang visited Greece last month during which he signalled Beijing's plans to buy bonds of the debt ridden European nation which hopes to act as a gateway to Chinese products into Europe.
Ahead of his first meeting with Modi, Xi had last month said that taking bilateral ties to a "new high" is a priority for his government.
During his meeting with Vice President Hamid Ansari last month in Beijing, Xi said China sees India as an important partner and improving ties with New Delhi is priority in China's diplomacy.
The 6th summit of BRICS, which comprises emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be held in Fortaleza and Brasilia on July 15-16. The summit will address political, economic and financial issues and challenges.
