Prime Minister Narendra Modi's social media diplomacy in China can play a "constructive" role in Sino-India ties though no major progress has been made, with "irritants" like the border dispute remaining, a Chinese state-run think-tank said.


When Modi congratulated Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on his 60th birthday through his account in the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo last week, he once again showed the high value he attaches to diplomacy through social media accounts, said an article by Zhao Gancheng, director of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies said.


His account on Weibo, akin to Twitter has tens of thousands of followers, the article carried by the web edition of the state- run Global Times said.


Noting that Modi's social media campaign is not exclusive to China as he "did the similar things" for the US, Russia and Japan, it said the move is aimed at delivering a message to the world that India is more open and is keeping up to date with the latest trends.