Important neighbor

As the first stop of the trip, India is an "important neighbor to China, and also an important emerging market", Song said.

That Li is visiting India first shows the great importance that the new government attaches to China-India ties, he said.

Li will attend official meetings with high-level Indian officials, give a speech during the commercial summit, and witness the signing of some cooperative agreements.

China expects to promote bilateral cooperation in investment, trade and infrastructures, Song said.

China is India's second-largest trading partner, while India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia. In 2012, bilateral trade volume reached $70 billion.

But India has frequently expressed concerns over its trade deficit with China, and the nation has been an aggressive initiator of trade remedy cases targeting China in recent years.

Chinese government officials say that China is aware of the issue and is willing to make Sino-Indian bilateral trade more balanced.

"The Chinese government has neither purposefully sought a trade surplus, nor set barriers for imports," Jiang said.

"China insists that balanced trade between the two Asian nations is sustainable and good for both.

"China and India are highly complementary to each other. China expects the bilateral trade will become more sustainable and balanced."

Despite the mechanism on border issues the two sides established, the bilateral ties have been soured by territorial issues. India and China has recently just ended a three-week border standoff.

"China and India have the wisdom and solutions to resolve the contradictions and frictions," Song said.

During his recent meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in Beijing, Li said friendly cooperation is central to Sino-Indian relations, and common interests outweigh differences.

The visit by Li will be fruitful, with a wide range of cooperative agreements expected to be signed during the coming days, officials said.