NEW DELHI: India and China jointly announced Wednesday that the special representatives dialogue on the boundary question — co-chaired by Ajit Doval and Wang Yi this week — had led to an eight-point consensus, signalling positive progress in boundary talks ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to India next month.These included advancing consultations for an “early and substantial harvest” of boundary delimitation, setting up more meeting points and hotlines to improve border management, improving understanding of LAC and addressing the ground situation through diplomatic and military engagements, and expanding trans-border trade and river cooperation. The consensus was announced in a rare joint statement after the talks.Building upon the outcomes of the last round of talks in 2024, the two sides agreed that the expert group on boundary delimitation and the working group on border management would advance discussions on an “early and substantial harvest” of boundary delimitation and border management. The first task for both these groups would be to agree on their respective terms of reference, said the joint statement.India and China had agreed last year to set up an expert group under the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs to explore early harvest in boundary delimitation. The formulation was changed to early and substantial on this occasion.Two additional meeting points for military talks and two more channels of border military hotlines were agreed upon to reinforce border management measures.“The two sides underlined their commitment to advancing negotiations on a framework for the settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question signed in 2005 and the consensus reached in subsequent special representative talks in pursuit of a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution,” said the MEA in a statement.According to the joint statement, both sides agreed that any situation on the ground would be addressed promptly through existing diplomatic and military channels to resolve outstanding issues along the LAC. “The two sides discussed ways to improve understanding of LAC in appropriate areas, for better border management,” it said.
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Both sides also noted the progress on trans-border cooperation, with the Indian side appreciating the efforts made by the Chinese side to increase the number of batches of Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet Autonomous Region.“Both sides appreciated the reopening of the three designated border trading points. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in border trade, pilgrimage and other areas, with a view to working together to create an atmosphere featuring dialogue, peace, consultation and cooperation in the border areas,” said the joint statement.India and China agreed to hold the next meeting of India-China Expert-Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers in Sept and maintain communication on issues that include hydrological data sharing. They agreed to hold the 26th round of special representatives talks in India in 2027.
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