New Delhi, Nov. 22: This may not have been on the official bonhomie agenda but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be grateful.

President Hu Jintao has told the Indian Left he likes the Indian model of economic growth — a model his comrades in India do not seem too pleased with.

At a meeting with top leaders of the CPM, CPI and the Forward Bloc, Hu told Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan that a lot has changed in India since his last trip 22 years ago. The Chinese President said he liked what he saw.

The Centre regularly cites Beijing’s “market socialism” to stump its Left allies on policies relating to foreign investment, labour laws and special economic zones.

If the Left mentions labour law violation, the Centre points to how China has kept its SEZs free of labour laws.

The Left now says it would like to study the Chinese model thoroughly. “We told Hu that visits between the two countries should be more research-oriented,” a Left leader said.

Indian communists do, of course, frequently visit China. What they now want is that the trips should focus on specific sectors so that they gain sharper insights.