Visits by heads of state to each other are cloaked in symbolism. But insensitivity to cultural or historical nuances can see the best of intentions go awry.

In March 2013, when Xi Jinping made his first overseas visit as president, to mark the occasion, President Vladimir Putin presented his guest with a specially reproduced front page from Pravda, the official Soviet newspaper, announcing on February 14, 1950, that the so-called Valentine’s Day treaty of friendship and co-operation had been signed by Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.