Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday embarked on his maiden visit to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka [Images] with the aim of increasing trust, friendship and cooperation with its neighbours.

Wen will meet senior leaders in New Delhi on April 9 to resolve the vexed boundary issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

The border issue 'does not hinder the overall development of Sino-Indian friendship and cooperation,' a senior Chinese diplomat said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said China and India have held four meetings within the special representative consultation mechanism and the fifth meeting is expected to be held during Wen's visit to India.
      
The two sides may reach consensus during the meeting, Wu said, indicating that a political guiding principle to resolve the boundary issue could be issued during the visit.

Wen will first stop in Islamabad and meet President Pervez Musharraf [Images] and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He will also address the China-Pakistan business forum and lay the foundation for the China-Pak friendship centre in Islamabad.

The two countries are expected to sign a number of documents of cooperation, Xinhua news agency reported.

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