Beijing - Indian President K.R. Narayanan arrived in China yesterday for a seven-day state visit aimed at boosting economic ties.
Mr Narayanan will meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji and will discuss a range of bilateral, regional and international issues, Indian officials said.
Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh told reporters last week India sought to boost trade ties with its neighbour.
He said trade currently totalled $2 billion a year, but did not do justice to the economic potential of the world's two most populous states. Last month, the two neighbours agreed to promote economic, scientific, and cultural contacts following talks by delegations led by Mr Mansingh and the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Mr Yan Wenchang.
The delegations also discussed boundary-related issues and confidence-building measures by their armed forces, India said. The issue of their 4,500-km frontier is viewed as central to relations between China and India.