Preparations are underway for an upcoming face-to-face between the leaders of China and India. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the city of Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, for two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both sides have stressed this is an informal meeting rather than a summit. The two countries are the world's biggest emerging markets, each with a population of more than a billion people. China's Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou says both support multilateralism and globalization and are important pillars of peace and prosperity. He says this bilateral relationship is more important now than ever.

KONG XUANYOU CHINESE VICE FOREIGN MINISTER "The leaders of China and India will conduct strategic discussions on major changes in the international landscape that have not been seen in the past one hundred years. They will have an in-depth exchange of views on issues of long-term and strategic importance in bilateral relations. This exchange will help deepen mutual trust between the two countries and set a course for the development of bilateral ties. It will also open up new prospects in China-India cooperation.  This informal summit will not only benefit the two countries and two peoples, but also have an important positive impact on peace and development in the region and beyond. "