With this quote from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at a private dinner with Wen this evening, sources said, Singh reciprocated China’s attempt at redefining the political backdrop against which the two sides will hold official discussions on a range of issues — some contentious and others of mutual interest — over the next couple of days.

The reframing of the India-China conversation as a dialogue between not just two neighbours, but between two major powers is already beginning to have its effect on key issues. Consider this:

• Boundary Question and exchange of maps : Special Representatives, NSA M K Narayanan and Vice-Minister Dai Bingguo, from both sides will meet on Tuesday to resolve the confusion arising from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s remark to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at Hamburg last year that the principle of not disturbing settled populations does not mean that there is change in Beijing’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh. Reliable sources said a resolution was in sight and India is very hopeful. Also, India will raise the issue of revitalising efforts at exchanging maps to clarify perceptions on the Line of Actual Control to prevent suspicion arising from reports of aggressive troop patrolling. The expert group dealing with this has not met for a long time now.

• Civil Nuclear Cooperation: China is willing to take forward the intent shown by Wen at Singapore when he met Singh on the margins of the East Asia Summit last November. India, sources said, is looking to draw a more firm commitment on civilian nuclear cooperation during the visit. This, of course, can only materialise once the exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group is obtained and IAEA safeguards agreement is ready. What is encouraging, however, is that China has not brought up its idea of criteria-based approach, which it had mooted in the NSG, during talks with India so far. This has raised hopes in the Indian camp on a positive change in Chinese attitude towards the nuclear deal and, therefore, in the NSG.

• Aviation: In a major shift from its position, India has agreed to let China’s Great Wall Airline, a cargo carrier, to fly to Mumbai and Chennai. As a result, China is now expected to give its consent to Jet Airways to become among the few international carriers to get transit rights from China. Jet proposes to fly to San Francisco via Shanghai from Mumbai. Beijing was holding back clearance after New Delhi had raised security objections to Great Wall Airlines on count of ownership issues.

• Defence Cooperation: Both sides are looking to broaden this engagement with the next Defence dialogue expected to be held at the level of the Defence secretary. India will also host the next joint exercise between the two countries.

Singh’s private dinner meeting with Wen has clearly set the stage for the visit. Wen shared with the limited guests the deep impact his visits to India have had on him. What pleasantly surprised the Indian guests was his interpretation of the Taj Mahal as a symbol of Shah Jahan’s approach as an emperor wanting to preserve harmony. And he went on to contrast this with the rule of successor Aurangzeb and the negative impact his policies had as they were aimed to achieve different political goals. Wen told Singh that this was a lesson he had learnt from Indian history and will not forget it. He also brought up Amartya Sen as someone who has also had an impact on him.

Tomorrow, both sides get down to official business starting with an economic summit, followed by delegation level talks and then a banquet hosted by Wen. But if today’s dinner meeting is any indication, the political backdrop is changing. As the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson described the visit: “When the Indian Prime Minister shakes hands of Chinese leaders, it will catch the eyes of the world.”