India, China Hold 25th Round of Border Talks in Beijing; Focus on Peace, Delimitation and Bilateral Ties

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks on the India-China boundary question in Beijing. The two sides held detailed discussions on maintaining peace and stability in the border areas, boundary delimitation, bilateral relations and mutual cooperation.

Both leaders emphasised that sustaining peace and tranquillity along the border remains fundamental to improving and normalising India-China relations.

Wang Yi described the talks as extensive and important. He said the two countries should enhance mutual understanding, properly manage differences and ensure that the boundary issue does not dominate the overall bilateral relationship.

Doval stressed the need to advance relations within a framework of cooperation and mutual interest rather than confining them to competition or differences. He noted that the recent improvement in bilateral ties is a direct result of peace and tranquillity prevailing in the border areas.

The two sides also discussed ways to further consolidate the existing peace and stability along the border and to prevent any fresh tensions by strengthening the current border management and communication mechanisms. They agreed on the importance of continuing border management practices, confidence-building measures and the contact and negotiation mechanisms established in earlier rounds of talks.

Discussions also covered promoting economic, political and multilateral cooperation and expanding collaboration in areas of mutual interest in line with the consensus reached by the top leadership of both countries.

Prior to the formal talks, Doval called on Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng.

According to Indian media reports, the Special Representatives’ dialogue is being viewed as an important step for confidence-building and border stability ahead of the BRICS Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in September and a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.