National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday for a two-day visit to participate in the 25th round of Special Representatives (SR) talks on the India-China boundary question with Chinese Foreign Minister and his counterpart Wang Yi.
The talks, scheduled for Tuesday, come amid continued differences between the two countries over the border, including Arunachal Pradesh, and uncertainty over Chinese President Xi Jinping's much-anticipated visit to India for the BRICS summit on September 12-13.
The India-China relationship came under severe strain following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. However, the two sides have since taken several steps aimed at stabilising ties.
Announcing the SR talks at a media briefing in Beijing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Doval and Wang would hold an "in-depth discussion" on the boundary question as well as bilateral, regional and international issues.
Lin described the SR mechanism as the main channel for negotiations between India and China on the boundary issue and an important platform for communication on matters of mutual interest.
The 24th round of talks was held in August last year, when the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges on the boundary question and reached several common understandings, Lin said.
During the 25th round, the two sides will continue discussions on the boundary question in the spirit of the understandings reached by their leaders, with the aim of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas, he added.
Doval and Wang are the designated Special Representatives for the boundary talks mechanism, which was established in 2003 to seek a political settlement to the India-China border dispute spanning 3,488 km.
While the mechanism has not resolved the boundary dispute, officials on both sides have regarded it as an important channel for addressing recurring tensions and maintaining communication.
During his visit, Doval is also scheduled to call on Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The talks come against the backdrop of uncertainty over Xi's proposed visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit. Beijing has not officially confirmed whether Xi will attend the September 12-13 summit, though officials on both sides remain hopeful of his participation.
A visit by Xi could provide an opportunity for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit to discuss measures to further stabilise and develop bilateral ties.
Modi and Xi last met in August 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.
Ahead of the Doval-Wang talks, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday reiterated that "peace and tranquillity" along the border was a prerequisite for good relations between India and China.
Jaishankar said India and China had gone through a "particularly bad patch" between the summer of 2020 and autumn of 2024, primarily because of the situation along the border.
His remarks came amid reports of increased Chinese military activity in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri region.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on August 12 that the situation along the China-India border was "generally stable at the moment".
India, however, has maintained that developments along the border are a matter of serious concern. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on August 11 that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control was of "utmost importance", as the state of the frontier would determine the overall trajectory of bilateral relations.
The two countries have also sparred over Arunachal Pradesh's geographical names. New Delhi recently rejected China's criticism of India's decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names.
India reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an "inalienable and integral" part of the country and said no action by China could alter that reality.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of what it calls South Tibet and has periodically released its own set of names for places in the state since 2017. India has consistently rejected the claims and described China's attempts to rename places in the region as "vain and preposterous".
(With inputs from PTI)
