Xi, Modi head to second informal summit

Cultural exchanges between China and India date to ancient times, said Tan Fei, a Beijing film critic who keeps an eye on the performance of Bollywood movies at the Chinese box office.

While the Chinese market has opened up for Hindi movies in the past three years or so, enthusiasm has waned recently.

"Bollywood should focus on the quality of movies, not the quantity. Too many of the same kind (genre) can lead to audience fatigue," Tan said.

In her 2017 book China-India Relations in the Contemporary World, Lu from the BRI Institute discussed India's "national interest and identity". She argued that the nation-building process in India has been more complicated than in China, owing to factors such as diverse languages, religions and ethnicity. As a result, India's policy priority has been "domestic-oriented".

"Reflected in the present context of geopolitics, there is a gap between India's desire and capability to achieve the status in the world that can match the glory of a civilization state," she said.

Zhang described the current state of Sino-Indian ties as "coopetition," meaning "cooperative competition".

Li described the ties as "stable and predictable", drawing a parallel between the Chinese Dream and aspirations for a "new India".

Kondapalli, from Jawaharlal Nehru University, said India and China are driven by their top leaders, adding that while there is turbulence in relations, "the leaders can handle it".

Analysts gave a mixed response to the future for China-India relations.

Bagchi, the diplomatic editor, said she has realistic expectations, adding: "It's a complex relationship. We will have good weeks and bad weeks."

Long, from South West Normal University, said he is cautiously optimistic and that the success of last year's summit had improved mutual strategic confidence.

This year's summit will signal the direction in which Sino-Indian relations are headed.