New Delhi: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday for the 25th round of talks between India and China on the long-running boundary dispute, as the two countries seek to stabilise ties after years of military and diplomatic tension.
Doval, India’s Special Representative for the boundary question, is scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister and China’s Special Representative Wang Yi on Tuesday. The meeting has been formally announced by China’s Foreign Ministry.
The talks come at a sensitive stage in India-China relations. While the two sides have taken steps since late 2024 to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control, the boundary dispute remains unresolved and recent developments have underlined the need for continued dialogue.
The Special Representatives’ mechanism was established in 2003 to address the boundary question at the highest political level. Tuesday’s meeting will be the 25th round of the mechanism.
The talks are expected to cover the boundary question and wider bilateral issues. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang and Doval would co-chair the meeting in Beijing on August 25.
Doval is also scheduled to call on Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng during his visit, according to Indian government-related reporting.
The timing of the visit is significant. India and China have been working to restore a degree of normalcy after the military standoff that followed the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, in which soldiers from both countries were killed.
A disengagement agreement reached in October 2024 helped ease the immediate military confrontation, but it did not resolve the larger boundary dispute. The two countries continue to differ over their roughly 3,800-km disputed Himalayan frontier. Reuters reported that the relationship has improved gradually, although differences remain.
The latest talks also come after reports of a fresh border-related encounter between patrols in July. India has maintained that peace and tranquillity along the border are essential for the broader relationship.
For New Delhi, the immediate objective remains maintaining stability along the LAC while keeping diplomatic channels open. Beijing has also publicly stressed the importance of continued engagement.
The discussions are taking place ahead of the BRICS summit that India is scheduled to host in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, adding another layer of importance to the diplomatic calendar.
Any substantive progress on the boundary issue would have implications well beyond the border. India-China relations affect trade, investment, regional security and the wider strategic balance in Asia.
For now, however, the significance of Tuesday’s meeting lies in the fact that the two sides are continuing their highest-level mechanism for addressing the boundary question despite unresolved differences.
The outcome of the talks will be closely watched for indications of whether the gradual improvement in bilateral engagement can be sustained.
