Resource：http://en.shisu.edu.cn/resources/news/modi-a-hit-with-chinese-students
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tudent of two Chinese universities took an instant liking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he spoke to them about the civilizational connect between India and China last week.
He is so dashing. Even his cloths are smart, a girl student gushed as Modi walked into a function hall at the Tsinghua University in Beijing. As the speech ended, another girl caused a ripple of shy laughter as she said, I don't mind a white haired boy friend if it is like him.
Modi also spoke at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, where he inaugurated a center of Gandhian and Indian Studies.
My students were elated. The Chinese students now have a lot of curiosity about India, Indira Ravindran, assistant professor at the Shanghai International Studies University, told TNN. For students with whom Modi talked and posed for pictures, it is a memorable occasion, she said.
The Prime Minister himself said that his interaction with the students in two universities were the best part of his appointments over three days, May 14 to May 16 in China. He also found it significant that the Chinese government encouraged such interaction. When a country allows a foreign leader to interact with its youth, it means the country wants to invest long term in the concerned foreign country, Modi later told the Indian community in Shanghai.
Chinese leaders assisted Modi in enhancing popularity among the country's youth. Chinese president Xi Jinping said it was the first time he had taken a foreign leader to his home town of Xian.
A selfie of a smiling Modi and Chinese premier Li Keqiang went viral over the Internet adding to the PM's popularity in China. The selfie, taken by Modi, was the first time Li was seen in a selfie on Twitter, which is banned in China. The three day visit saw Modi's following over Weibo, China's Twitter, jump by 100,000.
This drive to increase personal popularity is really a diplomatic move, which will be Frey useful to put across India's point of view. I think Modi is now more popular than Obama among Chinese youth as the US president is losing his popularity, a diplomat of a western country, said.
