While Chinese President Xi Jinping's bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the highlight of his two-day India visit for the 18th BRICS Summit, his car has also caught everyone's attention that was transported, along with other vehicles of convoy, to Delhi before his arrival.
The car, a Hongqi N701, was wrapped in black covers, and the images and videos had gone viral on social media platforms, sparking curiosity among everyone. Covering an official vehicle is crucial for its protection and security for overseas visit and it helps in avoiding unnecessary photographing or surveillance.
Additionally, covering a car helps in protecting it from dust, rain and sunlight during transportation. Usually, a premier's vehicle arrives in the host before the leader's arrival.
All about the 'Hongqi N701'
The Chinese President's limousine is no ordinary car. It is a Hongqi N701 that is exclusively designed and built by Hongqi, a Chinese luxury automotive brand which is owned and operated by FAW Group, for Xi. The name Hongqi literally translates to 'Red Flag'.
It has a length of around 5.5 metres and weighs somewhere between three and five metric tonnes, and reportedly uses a 6.0-litre V12 engine.
Many have described it as a fortress on wheels, as it is heavily armoured, and has bullet-resistant glass and specially protected 21-inch reinforced wheels. The car can also withstand explosions, and biological and chemical attacks; however, this has never been confirmed by Hongqi.
Some reports claim that the car also has an encrypted satellite link that helps Xi stay connected with Beijing and the others in the Chinese leadership.
The Hongqi N701 accompanies Xi in all his foreign visits.
Xi's India visit
Xi arrived in India earlier on Saturday. He participated in the 18th BRICS Summit and held a bilateral meeting with PM Modi. During his talks, the two leaders reaffirmed that both the countries should take a strategic and long-term perspective of their ties and differences should not become disputes, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
On economic front, Modi and Xi underlined the need to address each other's concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access, it said. They also expressed commitment to a "fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable" resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two sides.
(With inputs from PTI)
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