Chinese President Xi Jinping flew into the Indian financial hub of Ahmedabad yesterday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India’s need to modernise infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to court Chinese business and seek investment for development of major roads, railways and industrial zones.

India is also eager to address the imbalance in their annual trade, which totals $65 billion (£39.8bn) but is skewed toward imports of Chinese electrical goods.

Mr Modi and the government of his home state Gujarat gave a lavish welcome to President Xi, including a banquet on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad.

“India and China today constitute almost 35 per cent of the world’s population,” said the Indian PM.

“From a purely arithmetic point of view … that they decide to work together will open big gates for progress and development in the world.”

“China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century,” the Chinese leader wrote in yesterday’s The Hindu newspaper.

President Xi will meet officials in New Delhi today.

He visited Sri Lanka and the Maldives earlier, winning support for his vision of a modern “Silk Road” sea route between China and Europe.

The Chinese leader signed agreements to build roads and a joint coastal and marine research centre in Sri Lanka.

He also helped to launch Colombo Port City, being constructed on an artificial island off the capital with $1.4 billion (£806m) in Chinese loans to be a “hub on the marine Silk Road.”