The Chinese ambassador to India told a journalist in New Delhi to "shut up" in a heated exchange over a map that showed parts of India within China, newspapers reported on Friday.

Reporters noticed that a map in a Chinese brochure about an investment in India showed the Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of China and also challenged India's claims in the Kashmir region.

"Peppered with questions on the map showing Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh in China and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in Pakistan, Zhang Yan told the journalist to 'shut up'," the Hindustan Times reported.

Zhang later said the journalist "pushed, pushed, pushed" even when told it was "a technical issue" that would be rectified.

"We are working for friendlier ties with India... this will not help," Zhang said after his flash of temper at a news conference in a luxury hotel.

The disputed borders between India and China have been the subject of fruitless talks since 1962, when the two nations fought a brief but brutal war over the region.

The issue remains sensitive and China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh in its entirety, protested against a 2009 election campaign visit to the state by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Indian officials downplayed Thursday's incident, saying the map was not produced by the Chinese government.