NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that he is looking forward to welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping in his home state Gujarat.

In an interview with Delhi-based Chinese journalists, Modi said he is glad to hold the first meeting with the Chinese president in Gujarat during Xi's state visit to India, as the state has a long relationship with China in culture and civilization.

"It's a great thing for us to welcome President Xi in Gujarat. It is good that Pr

President Xi attends SCO summit, visits four nations

esident Xi has included Gujarat in his itinerary of his Indian visit," said Modi, "I am going to Ahmadabad today for the event."

He said Gujarat had become home of many people who have traveled to China while also having hosted many Chinese visitors in the past, including 7th century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuan Zang.

"The oldest visitor from China (Xuan Zang) stayed in the village I came from," he said, adding that these historical, cultural and civilizational ties are extremely important for China- India relations.

On India-China relations, Modi said the two countries are bonded by history and connected by culture.

"Both countries are rich in culture. This makes our traditional relations special and unique," he said.

Modi said that India and China have about 35 percent of the world population and 300 years ago, the two countries contributed to half of the world GDP.

"If we work together, we can not only lift up the living standard of 35 percent of world population, but also can bring special meaning to the remaining 65 percent of world population by contributing to economic prosperity of the world," he said.

Modi said in Hindi, the word "sugar" is "Chini" meaning China, because it is the Chinese who first brought the technology of sugar refinery and manufacturing to India.

"The word 'sugar' in Hindi shows deep ties of the two countries, " he said.

Modi also revealed that he now has a new idea on boosting bilateral cooperation, which he will introduce to President Xi.

"It is called 'Inch towards Miles', or abbreviation of 'India- China towards Millennium Synergy'," said the prime minister.