Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, has called on China to address the growing trade imbalance between the world’s two most populous nations as they seek to build bilateral business ties and overcome a history of mutual suspicion.

Mr Singh’s comments, made during his long-awaited first visit to Beijing as prime minister, highlight concerns that China’s burgeoning trade surplus will further complicate a relationship darkened by a border dispute that sparked a brief war in 1962.