Their increasingly robust links in trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges have demonstrated that strengthening bilateral cooperation is not just empty talk.

To be honest, the two nations cannot fully restore mutual trust without resolving the border dispute, a complex issue that might linger for a while.

However, the level of mistrust could be gradually reduced with good faith in each other's strategic intentions. China adheres to the five principles of peaceful coexistence in its foreign policy, and has never sought to enhance ties with any other country at the expense of its relationship with India.

It is also Beijing's belief that India, an early advocate of the non-aligned movement, will pursue its China policy at its own will without being part of the schemes of other powers.

China-India interaction is gaining global prominence at a time when many in the world turn to the two leading emerging economies for hints of confidence in the post-crisis recovery process.

That attention comes with a responsibility for the two giant neighbors to lay aside their differences and expand collaboration toward building a new type of inter-power relations that benefit the two nations, the region and the world at large.

The China-India relationship is more about the future than about the past. It is with such a forward-looking mind that China's new leadership has decided to take new initiatives to further deepen bilateral ties and mutual trust. Li's upcoming trip will be a crucial step in that direction.