As Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his three-day visit to China on Thursday, the Chinese state-owned media greeted the high-profile visitor with a wrong map of India. The map, aired by the CCTV, excluded Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir from the Indian territory.

To be fair to China, the faux pas - though not a quid pro quo by any stretch of diplomacy - might remind the Chinese regime of the anchor of India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan, calling President Xi Jinping 'Eleven Jinping' in September last year.

India and China have disagreed for decades over which country controls two chunks of the Himalayan territory. China says Arunachal Pradesh is part of China, while India insists China is illegally occupying Aksai Chin, a rocky and largely empty region far to the northwest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China on Thursday. Photo: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China on Thursday. Photo: PTI

The two sides fought a brief war in 1962 over the latter territory. But the disputes have been low key for years now, with both countries much more concerned about boosting cross-border trade and investment.