Senior Chinese leader visits India

The leader of the Chinese parliament, Li Peng, has begun a nine-day visit to India aimed at normalising relations.

Mr Li, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit India since Delhi's nuclear tests in 1998, will hold talks with Indian business executives and politicians.

He arrived in Bombay, and is expected in Delhi on Thursday.

The talks are expected to include widespread concerns in India about the rising imports of Chinese goods and reports of Chinese military assistance to Pakistan. A cross-party group of Indian politicians said the government should use the occasion of Mr Li's visit to resolve the fears of Indian manufacturers, whose businesses have been damaged by the imports of cheap bicycles, toys and sports wear.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service