New Delhi: Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval Tuesday said “peace and tranquility” at the border was essential for progress in the India-China bilateral relationship, while meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
Doval, who was on a two-day visit to China on 24 and 25 August for the 25th meeting of the Special Representative mechanism, also called on Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
“The Indian side highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas for the continued development and progress of the bilateral relationship,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in its readout of the meeting.
It added: “The two sides noted the progress made in implementing the important consensus reached between their leaders in Kazan in October 2024 and Tianjin in August 2025. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the steady resumption of people-to-people and cross-border exchanges, including the ongoing Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and Border Trade through the three designated border trading passes.”
The meeting assumes significance following the breakout of tensions across the border in India’s Northeast. Indian and Chinese patrolling troops faced-off near the remote village of Taksing in July, as reported by ThePrint.
Doval and Wang met just a week before a likely interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. Modi is expected to travel to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan between 29 August and 1 September.
Xi is expected to travel to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit, which is set to be held on 12 and 13 September, further indicating another opportunity for the two leaders to meet. India and China have introduced confidence-building mechanisms over the last 20 months, as ties continue to stabilise.
The relationship cratered in the summer months of 2020 following the military clashes in Eastern Ladakh. New Delhi and Beijing were finally able to disengage across the friction points in Eastern Ladakh following an agreement announced in October 2024.
Since then Prime Minister Modi has held two meetings with Xi, on the margins of the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024, and in Tianjin last August. A number of confidence-building measures have been implemented following meetings between Doval and Wang in the past. The situation in Eastern Ladakh remains calm.
“Under the strategic guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, and in a constructive and forward-looking spirit, the two Special Representatives had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the India-China Boundary Question, and agreed to continue their work in seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests,” added the MEA statement.
The Chinese readout highlighted that Wang stated Beijing’s interest to be a “good neighbour and partner.” It added that Wang underlined that the bilateral relationship between India and China has “global and strategic significance”.
China has sought to bifurcate the boundary question from the larger relationship, by consistently highlighting the importance of placing the issue in “proper context” in relation to overall ties. However, for India, peace and tranquility remains the starting point for discussions on other parts of the relationship.
Since the announcement of the disengagement in October 2024, the two countries have resumed direct flights, while China restarted the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. India has also begun issuing visas to Chinese nationals, as the two countries continue to build confidence in the process of stabilising ties.
India has moved in recent months to ease curbs on the flow of investment from China, while Beijing remains the largest source of goods for the Indian market.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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