Narendra_Modi_meets_Chinese_Foreign_Minister_WangBeijing: Amid fierce disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, China is reaching out to India in a warming trend that could help ramp up economic exchanges and dissipate decades of distrust between the two giant neighbours.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was conspicuous in being the first foreign leader to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi following Modi’s swearing-in last month. The next day, Li dispatched his top foreign policy adviser to tell India’s ambassador that China wanted to boost cooperation in all areas.

Beijing has much reason to draw nearer to India, especially as chief rival the United States seeks to strengthen its relationships in Asia after the distractions of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Huang Jing, a China expert at Singapore National University’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.