NEW DELHI, May 19: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here on Sunday on a three-day visit to deepen friendship with New Delhi after a brief border face-off this month, which Chinese analysts have blamed on India’s private media more than on official policy.

Mr Li, who travels to Pakistan on Tuesday, has underscored the importance of starting his first foreign tour from India. The official Xinhua news agency said the visit reflected the “forward-looking” intentions of the new leadership in Beijing to reboot bilateral ties despite the recent mistrust.

The “choice of India as the first leg” of Mr Li’s maiden overseas tour as Premier “sent out a clear signal that Beijing’s new leadership prioritises enhancing ties with New Delhi despite border spats and other disputes,” Xinhua said before the visit.

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed and senior officials, including Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, received the Chinese delegation comprising government officials and businessmen.

Shortly after his arrival, Mr Li had “restricted talks” with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh followed by a dinner at his 7 Race Course Road residence. Leaders of opposition parties who attended the dinner included some who were critical of Beijing’s alleged transgressions in Ladakh in April that led to a 20-day face-off, mostly fought through the media.

“Indian media have continuously created trouble for the Sino-Indian relationship,” the ruling Communist party’s daily Gobal Times said during the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. “The reality is that communication over border issues between China and India has usually been smooth. Officials from both sides speak highly about the peaceful state of border areas,” it said.

Fearing protests, especially from Tibetan exiles living in Delhi, authorities closed the Race Course Metro station on Sunday night.

Officials said the decision was made as a security measure, keeping in mind the Chinese premier’s visit to the national capital. Asserting that India thinks “very highly” of Mr Li’s gesture of making the country his first overseas stop after assuming charge, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said such exchanges were aimed at enhancing trust and understanding as well “exhibit sensitivity” to each other’s concerns.

The Xinhua commentary suggested that the “swift cooling-down” from “the latest border spat” had reaffirmed that both sides were “looking at the big picture of their ties, instead of being carried away by incidental matters”.

“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,” the commentary said. “Li’s upcoming trip will be a crucial step in that direction.”