India and China to continue work on seeking political settlement of boundary question: MEA

Beijing/New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) National Security Advisor (NSA) and Special Representative of India on India-China Boundary Question, Ajit Doval, on Tuesday highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas for the continued development and progress of the bilateral relationship during the 25th Round of the Special Representatives Talks on the India-China Boundary Question held in Beijing. 

NSA Doval and Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister and Member of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China - also the Chinese Special Representative and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission - held comprehensive, in-depth, friendly, and candid discussions on the China-India boundary issue and bilateral relations during the meeting. 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two sides noted the progress made in implementing the important consensus reached between their leaders - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping - in Kazan in October 2024 and Tianjin in August 2025. 

They also 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.

"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," read a statement issued by the MEA after the meeting.

"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," it added. 

The two sides also discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

NSA Doval was on a two-day visit to Beijing at the invitation of Wang Yi. During the visit, he also called on Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry termed China and India as important neighbours and representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies, saying that Beijing is willing to enhance understanding, eliminate differences, overcome obstacles, and be good neighbours and friends with New Delhi. 

"Wang Yi stated that China and India are important neighbours and representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies. The healthy and stable development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of both peoples, meets the common aspirations of countries in the Global South, and aligns with the trend of the times. China-India relations have transcended the bilateral scope and possess global and strategic significance," Wang Yi was quoted as saying during the meeting by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"In recent years, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi met twice in Kazan and Tianjin, reaching a series of important consensuses that have charted the course for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. China is willing to work with India to grasp bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, strengthen communication, enhance understanding, eliminate differences, overcome obstacles, and be good-neighbourly and friendly friends and mutually beneficial partners, achieving a harmonious coexistence between the dragon and the elephant," he added. 

--IANS

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