State councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi is now on the second day of his visit to India. Wang and his Indian counterpart both chaired the first-ever high-level meeting on people-to-people exchanges. It's all part of a drive to improve relations between two of Asia's economic heavy-weights. Shweta Bajaj has more.

Two countries that constitute about one-third of the world's population. But although the near-neighbors have much in common, their diplomatic struggles have been well documented over the years. It came to a point where both sides agreed to wipe the slate clean, and begin a process of rebuilding trust.

WANG YI CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER "People-to-people exchanges must also step up and this will be helpful to increase our people-to-people mutual understanding and friendship. It will also help consolidate the popular basis of state-to-state relations. At the same time, China and India are celebrated civilizations. Enhanced people-to-people exchanges and cultural communication between China and India will also serve as a driving force for the progress of the entire mankind."

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for an informal summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. They made a commitment to improve their flagging bilateral relations, with a particular focus on ramping up their people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Pretty basic, for two of Asia's powerhouses you might feel, but both sides are adamant that this is the way forward. They're looking to the areas of film and television, sports and special projects for young people to ensure their future relations have a strong foundation.

SUSHMA SARAJ INDIAN EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER "In Wuhan during the informal summit, the decision was made to constitute a mechanism for cultural exchange, people-to-people contact and the relationship among our people. So now you can understand the importance we want to give to the relationship between our people because we know that better people-to-people contact is important for our bilateral relationship."

Earlier in the day, Wang Yi also met the Indian president. Ram Nath Kovind said India was ready to increase their economic and military cooperation, all in a bid to promote mutual trust.

SHWETA BAJAJ NEW DEHLI "With border disputes monopolising their bilateral talks in recent years, both countries feel it's now time to move on and believe that increased communication and cooperation can put those troubling days far behind them. Experts believe the high-level mechanism can help both sides to better understand the other and that over the coming decades, it won't just be China and India benefiting from the warmer relations, but the entire world."