Doval, Wang Yi Hold ‘In-Depth’ Talks in Beijing to Fast-Track Border Resolution

New Delhi: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had a "candid and in-depth exchange of views in a constructive and forward-looking spirit" at the 25th meeting of special representatives on the China-India boundary question in Beijing on Tuesday evening. 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", New Delhi said late on Tuesday evening.

The Indian Embassy in Beijing meanwhile said the two SRs "discussed ways to further expand bilateral cooperation, maintain stability and ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and make progress on boundary delimitation, while sustaining the ongoing work on transboundary cooperation".

Earlier in the day, Doval called on Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, even as a Reuters report indicated that Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit New Delhi for the BRICS Summit next month at the head of a 400-member official delegation, adding that Chinese officials in Delhi were examining hotels and security protocols for the top-level visit.

China, on its part on Tuesday, reportedly described the talks as "comprehensive and friendly" and said the "two sides held in-depth discussions on advancing boundary delimitation negotiations, strengthening border management and control, improving mechanism building, and promoting cross-border cooperation".

According to the Chinese side, Wang also assured Doval that "China is ready to work with India to approach bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, strengthen communication, enhance mutual understanding, eliminate differences, overcome obstacles, and become good neighbors and friends of amity as well as partners for mutual success, so as to realize the 'dance of the dragon and the elephant'," Beijing said. The dragon and the elephant are metaphors used by China to describe the two nations.

Wang apparently said at the meeting that the two sides would "seek a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable package solution to the boundary question" and properly handle it "through dialogue and consultation and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas". Beijing said the two sides agreed that the next meeting would be held in India next year.

In a statement, New Delhi said that "under the strategic guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, the two SRs "agreed to continue their work in seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests". India further said "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 and that "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".

Meanwhile, the Chinese side claimed on Tuesday that Doval had stated at the meeting that India and China "are partners for cooperation rather than rivals" and that "India is willing to further strengthen strategic communication with China, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, deepen multilateral coordination, effectively manage the border areas, explore solutions to the boundary question, and accelerate the improvement and development of India-China relations". According to Beijing, Doval further said that "under the guidance of the leaders of the two countries, India-China relations have returned to the right track (and that) the overall situation in the border areas has remained peaceful".

According to Beijing, Chinese Vice President Han told Doval at their separate meeting that the two nations should "enhance strategic mutual trust; tap into cooperation potential; strengthen multilateral coordination; properly manage differences; and promote the sustained and stable development of China-India relations". The Chinese Vice President reportedly added that "over the past two years, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi ... are guiding the bilateral relationship back onto a track of recovery and improvement".

It may be recalled that exactly a year ago during the previous round of SR talks in New Delhi, both two nations had “decided to set up an expert group to explore early harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas, a working group to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace and tranquillity in India-China border areas, creation of general level mechanisms in eastern, and middle sectors and holding an early meeting of the existing general level mechanism in the Western Sector”. Both sides had also decided to "utilise the border management mechanisms at diplomatic and military levels to carry forward the process of border management, and discuss de-escalation”. It may be noted that after military disengagement in the Ladakh sector between Indian and Chinese troops two years ago, India has been pressing for the military de-escalation process to move forward.