Diplomats and experts are glued to this, given Zhang's tight link to Xi and the commission's role in commanding the PLA's modernisation and tough stance.
A government source stated that Beijing had been given a letter "in recent days" informing the Chinese government that Italy would not be renewing the pact.
Interestingly, the Congress party is now desperately raking up the China issue in a bid to project the Modi government's approach towards China as 'weak'. However, the party and its prince Rahul Gandhi have on several occasions expressed their admiration for China openly.
After securing power for the third term in the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping has "ensured complete control" of and loyalty from the army