PM Modi's Selfie Diplomacy is All the Rage in China

Beijing: In a rare show of everyman charm from one of China's most elite politicians, Premier Li Keqiang appeared in a grinning selfie with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

PM Modi, who is visiting China this week to boost economic ties and discuss a persistent border dispute, is widely acknowledged for his ease with social media, including a large follower base on Twitter.

The selfie, which shows the leaders at a historical site smiling shoulder to shoulder, with Premier Li squinting slightly in the sunlight, was posted on Mr Modi's Chinese microblog account.

(The selfie with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that was tweeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.)

Many Weibo users reacted with delight to the two leaders' selfie, with messages like "cute premier!"

Others wondered why China's own leaders had no social media presence.

"Wouldn't it be great if Premier Li had his own Weibo?" one user wrote. "Then we could respond to him directly."

Such spontaneous displays online are rare for leaders in China, where discussion of politicians' personal lives is taboo and details such as their exact birthdates are considered a state secret.

Mr Modi spent the day in talks with Prime Minister Li during his three-day trip and is set to travel to the economic powerhouse of Shanghai on Saturday.

He set up an account on the microblogging site Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, ahead of his trip, prompting a flurry of messages from the Chinese public, some of whom flagged the simmering border dispute between Delhi and Beijing.