India-China ties are entering another important phase of engagement as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday for the 25th round of the Special Representatives’ (SR) talks on the boundary question, showing continued efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to stabilise relations after years of tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Doval, India’s Special Representative for the India-China Boundary Question, is visiting Beijing at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two-day visit will include talks between Doval and Wang, who is China’s Special Representative, on August 25. Doval is also scheduled to call on Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
The visit comes against the backdrop of a gradual thaw in ties between the two Asian powers following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh that severely strained bilateral relations.
What are the Special Representatives’ talks?
The Special Representatives’ mechanism is the high-level dialogue between India and China dedicated specifically to resolving the boundary question. The mechanism was established in 2003, with the two sides appointing senior officials to explore a framework for resolving the long-running border dispute. The talks cover the bigger political, strategic, and boundary-related issues between the two countries.
The 25th round comes at a time when India and China are attempting to consolidate a gradual improvement in bilateral relations, even as fundamental differences over the boundary remain unresolved. For India, maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC remains central to improving ties with Beijing.
Why is Doval’s Beijing visit significant?
The talks are significant as the India-China relationship has been closely tied to developments along the border since the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh. The two countries have taken several steps since late 2024 to reduce tensions and restore engagement. The latest round of Special Representatives’ talks provides another channel to address the boundary issue while the broader relationship moves towards gradual normalisation.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Doval and Wang had reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations during their earlier meeting in June and noted progress towards gradual normalisation.
“Stable, predictable and constructive bilateral relations contribute to building trust and better understanding between the two sides,” Doval said during those discussions, according to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The ministry described the discussions as “constructive and forward-looking”.
Doval’s meeting with Wang in Beijing is therefore not an isolated diplomatic engagement. It comes as part of a wider effort to rebuild communication between the two countries while keeping the border issue at the centre of the relationship.
From Ladakh tensions to gradual normalisation
India-China relations deteriorated sharply after the military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh beginning in 2020. India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquillity along the border are essential for the broader relationship to move forward.
Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the period between the summer of 2020 and autumn of 2024 as a “particularly bad patch” in India-China relations, attributing it primarily to the situation in the border areas.
“At the end of the day, peace and tranquillity in the border areas is a prerequisite for good relations,” Jaishankar said, according to The Indian Express.
He added that if the border situation remains stable and bilateral ties become more cooperative, there is significant scope for the two countries to engage economically, given their size and role in global supply chains.
Modi-Xi engagement adds momentum
The latest diplomatic engagement also follows meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of key international summits. The two leaders met at the SCO Summit in Tianjin last year, following their earlier meeting in Kazan in October 2024. During their discussions, both sides welcomed what they described as positive momentum and steady progress in bilateral relations.
India and China have also stressed that they should view each other as development partners rather than rivals and that differences should not escalate into disputes. The Centre has also said that a stable relationship based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity is important not only for the two countries but also for a multipolar Asia and world.
Wang Yi’s message to India
The diplomatic engagement has also seen Beijing articulate its expectations from New Delhi. During his visit to India in June for the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting, Wang Yi met Doval on the sidelines.
Wang said the need for India and China to respect each other’s “core interests” and take concrete steps to implement the understandings reached between the two sides.
The June meeting was particularly significant because Wang and Doval are the designated Special Representatives for the boundary question. Their continued engagement provides a direct channel for discussions on the border even as the two governments work to improve the broader relationship.
The border remains the key test
Despite the diplomatic thaw, the boundary dispute remains unresolved. Earlier this month, the MEA, responding to reports of tension along the LAC, reiterated that the state of the border would have a bearing on the state of the broader India-China relationship. The ministry has repeatedly described maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC as being of “utmost importance”. The issue also extends beyond the military situation.
Earlier this month, India rejected China’s criticism over New Delhi identifying 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard Indian names. The MEA reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “inalienable and integral” part of India and that no action by another country can alter that position.
That illustrates the limits of the current thaw: while military tensions have eased and diplomatic engagement has increased, fundamental territorial differences remain.
Why the economic relationship matters
The border issue is only one part of a much larger India-China relationship. Jaishankar recently pointed out that India and China are both major economies and markets for each other, while also being part of global supply chains.
China’s much larger manufacturing base and industrial capacity have made the economic relationship particularly important for India. But New Delhi’s approach is not to pursue engagement at the expense of economic self-reliance.
What to watch from the 25th round
The immediate focus of Doval’s Beijing visit will be the boundary question and the broader state of bilateral relations. But the importance of the talks goes beyond whether there is an immediate breakthrough on the boundary dispute. For India, the key objective is to ensure that the recent reduction in tensions becomes durable and that peace and tranquillity along the LAC provide a foundation for rebuilding broader engagement.