Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tour a museum and dine with President Xi Jinping on the first day of an ice-breaking visit to China in which the giant neighbours will seek to re-set a troubled relationship.
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Modi is only spending about 24 hours in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, just months after a dispute over a stretch of their high-altitude Himalayan border rekindled fears of war between the two Asian nations.
Modi will first greet Xi on Friday and then tour ancient Chinese artefacts at the Hubei Provincial Museum, followed by what is scheduled to be a 40-minute meeting with Xi and then dinner, according to India's foreign ministry.
On Saturday, the two are due to take a walk around their guesthouse and then an hour-long boat-trip, informal settings mostly without aides that both sides are hoping will lead to frank discussions.
"President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of current and future international situation," Modi said in a Twitter post.
Indian and Chinese officials have offered few other details of the summit.
The museum in Wuhan, an industrial and university town with no obvious connection to India, was closed ahead of Modi's arrival. A red carpet leading up the stairs could be seen from the street and a plain clothes police office told a Reuters reporter to stop taking pictures.
A sign at the entrance said the museum was closed for four days due to "equipment maintenance".
In a commentary on Friday, the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily said the cultures of both China and India set great store on the concept of harmony, and pointed out the same museum had in 2014 held a special exhibition on India.
Australian Associated Press
