Jiang Jingkui, director of the Center of South Asian Studies under Peking University, said economic cooperation between the two neighbors, which together have 40 percent of the world's population, has lagged far behind their potential. If well developed, this will give "a strong impetus" to the world economy, Jiang said.

Sun Shihai, an expert on Indian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said 51 percent of the Indian population are younger than 25 and in 2025 India will have about 130 million extra workers that would be available to the world.

"That will provide an opportunity for China's manufacturing sector troubled by surging labor prices at home," Sun said.

India: 'Beijing getting closer'

Furthermore, he said, India has had a great impact on China's security and national strategy. "China will by no means ignore such an important emerging economy".

"And it is the same for India," he said, adding that Beijing and New Delhi are fully aware of each other's importance and are committed to the ties despite the intervention of the border issue.

"In the past two decades, India has never attached such great importance to its development," said former Chinese ambassador to India and Pakistan Zhou Gang.

"In that regard, Beijing and New Delhi have a deep, tacit understanding, that they both need a peaceful and stable external environment."

Li will also go to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany during the nine-day tour, which ends on May 27.

The academy's Sun said Beijing's engagement in South Asian affairs has helped ease relations between India and Pakistan. Madan Regmi, chairman of Nepal's China Study Center, told China News Agency on Saturday that Li's visit to India and Pakistan shows that Beijing is getting closer to the region.