Indian PM Narendra Modi is in China on a three-day visit intended to boost economic co-operation but in danger of being overshadowed by mutual mistrust.
Ties between the two countries are strained because of a long-running border dispute.
Mr Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Xian, capital of Mr Xi's home province of Shaanxi, and will later travel to Beijing and Shanghai.
Mr Modi said that he hoped his visit would increase the prosperity of Asia.
"I am confident my visit will lay the foundation for further enhancing economic co-operation with China in a wide range of sectors," he tweeted last week.
China is India's biggest trading partner with commerce between the two countries totalling $71bn (£45bn/€62bn) in 2014.
But Indian figures show that its trade deficit with China has spiralled from just $1bn in 2001-02 to more than $38bn (£24bn; €33bn) in 2014.
Mr Modi's decision to start his trip in the ancient central city of Xian - some 1,000km (600 miles) from Beijing - is being seen as symbolic of the move to improve relations between India and China.
Mr Xi, who like most Chinese leaders seldom hosts foreign dignitaries outside the capital, issued the invitation while visiting Mr Modi's home town in Gujarat state last year.
The two leaders will tour the ancient Wild Goose Pagoda and visit the Terracotta Warrior exhibition outside the city, before travelling to Beijing on Thursday evening.
Ties between China and India have long been strained over a border dispute stemming from a short but bitterly-fought war between the two countries in 1962.
Correspondents say that Mr Modi has pursued a more strident foreign policy since coming to power a year ago, strengthening ties with the US and abandoning his country's long-standing foreign policy of non-alignment.
Beijing, in turn, has strengthened ties with India's arch-rival Pakistan, pledging to invest millions of dollars in infrastructure projects there.
