Hyderabad, Sept. 3 -- This is an abridged version of the chapter 'The Chinese Connection' from Kingshuk Nag's book, The NaMo Story. Nag served as The Times of India's Ahmedabad and Hyderabad Resident Editor.

With India and China at loggerheads at the LAC, not many know that Narendra Modi and China had quite the friendly dynamic while he worked his way towards the country's highest office.

State governments are not vested with powers to engage with foreign countries in their own capacity. Though the seed for his own links with China were planted only in Gujarat during the Modi's tenure as Chief Minister of the state.

Though this was seen more as using China as a bulwark against the superpowers of US and UK who rebuked him due to his poo...