China's commerce and defence ministers are slated to pay visits to New Delhi within the following three week, a strong sign that the two countries want to improve bilateral trade and military ties.

Chinese commerce minister Chen Deming will reportedly arrive in New Delhi on a two-day trip. He will hold the ninth round of talks with Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma discuss way to improve partnership under the framework of Joint Economic Group.

India's exports to China slipped 8 per cent year-on-year to $12.91 billion in the first six months of this year. The decline was mainly due to 50 per cent drop in India's iron ore exports to China.

China's exports to India are also on the decline. In July, exports dropped 3.3 per cent to $26.57 billion.

On September 2, a twenty-member delegation of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headed by Chinese defence minister general Liang Guanglie arrive in India for a three-to-four-day visit.

The Chinese PLA delegation will include officers from the Chengdu and Lanzhou military regions, which share borders with India. The delegation will also have members of the strategic & secretive Second Artillery Corps, which handles China's nuclear and ballistic missiles.

It will be the first a Chinese defence minister's first visit to India since 2004. President Mukherjee was the last Indian defence minister to pay a visit to China in 2006 during UPA's first regime.