India was upbeat when Li Keqiang, China’s new premier, announced that New Delhi would be the destination for his first foreign trip since taking power: it was seen by some as a potential milestone in more co-operative relations between the two wary neighbours.
But as Salman Khurshid, India’s foreign minister, arrived in Beijing on Thursday to finalise details for the visit, many Indians were asking why Mr Li is coming at all.
The optimism was shattered by a three-week border stand-off between the two countries after an estimated 30 Chinese troops slipped across the de facto Himalayan border they share and 19km into what India says is its territory.