By NewsGram Staff Writer

The first ever Center for Gandhian Studies, is expected to be launched in Shanghai's Fudan University, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China from May 14-16.

Modi will arrive in Chinese city of Xian on May 14 where he would hold informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and later travel to Beijing on May 15 for the formal talks.

With Yoga increasingly becoming popular as a fitness program, Modi is also expected to announce the setting up of a Yoga College which will be established at Yunnan Minzu University in China's Yunnan province.

According to officials, the staff for the centre will be provided by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR)

The university already has a centre for Indian studies. However, this is the first time a centre dedicated to Gandhian studies is being established in China even though a few books on Gandhian thoughts have been published in the Chinese language earlier.

Despite being contemporaries, Gandhi and former chairman of the Communist Party of China Mao Zedong have contrasting views on national liberation.

Whereas, Mahatma Gandhi advocated non-violent struggle, Mao firmly believed in the dictum of "power flows through the barrel of the gun".

Modi is expected to end his visit in Shanghai where he would attend a series of events including an address to the Indian community.​