Chennai, Oct. 13 -- Informal meets are a rarity between two formal regional powers, more so between two tea-drinking nations that comprise over 37% of the human population. The Modi-Xi informal meet in Mamallapuram falls into the very category. What and where shall it lead to is anybody's guess?

The US president Donald Trump has declared a trade war on China. And at a time when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meets to discuss the fate of China's all weather ally Pakistan for its deep involvement in international terrorism, many perceive the visit of Xi Jinping as a balancing act by China.

The new bonhomie between Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi is also perceived as akin to between Zhou Enlai and Jawaharlal Nehru, and what happened i...