India, Sept. 2 -- In the power circles of the Chinese Communist Party, he is known as the man who does not smile. Known as the right-hand man of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Cai Qi is the most sought-after man by foreign diplomats in Beijing, but he is out of bounds for most. Yet, President Xi asked him to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss India-China ties, literally triggering a major diplomatic earthquake in Tianjin.

Cai, who wears multiple hats in CPC and is a feared man in Beijing, met PM Modi for over 45 minutes discussing how to normalize ties between two Asian giants. And he smiled.

Before the start of the dialogue, Cai reportedly told PM Modi that he had been tasked (by President Xi) to give lunch to him but then I ...