Ajit Doval calls on Chinese Vice President Han Zhang ahead of border talks

Beijing, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday called on Chinese Vice President Han Zhang and discussed ways to strengthen peace and tranquillity in the border areas, besides further improving bilateral ties.

Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday on a two-day visit to take part in the Special Representatives (SR) talks on the India-China boundary question with his Chinese counterpart and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The talks between Doval and Chinese Vice President Han Zhang focussed on ways to strengthen peace and tranquillity in the border areas and further improve bilateral relations across economic, political and multilateral fora, in accordance with the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, the Indian Embassy said in a post on X.


The SR talks between Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi are scheduled later in the day.

The talks assume significance as they are being held ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's much-anticipated visit to New Delhi to attend the BRICS summit on September 12-13.

They also come at a time when differences over the border and Arunachal Pradesh continue to figure prominently in India-China bilateral ties.

The ties between New Delhi and Beijing came under severe strain after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the prolonged military stand-off in eastern Ladakh. But both sides have since taken steps to stabilise relations.

Both Doval and Wang are the designated SRs for the boundary talks mechanism, which was established in 2003 to comprehensively address the dispute of the India-China border spanning 3,488 km.

While success eluded it in resolving the boundary dispute, officials on both sides regard the structured mechanism as a useful tool in addressing the recurring tensions between the two countries on various fronts.

Announcing the SR talks at a media briefing here on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, however, skirted a direct response to a question about Xi's visit to India.

Xi's visit would provide an opportunity for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit to discuss initiatives to take forward bilateral ties.

Modi and Xi last met in August 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.

On the SRs talks, Lin said Doval and Wang will have an in-depth discussion on the boundary question as well as other bilateral, regional and international relations.

The talks between SRs are the "main channel" for negotiations between China and India on the boundary question, and also an important platform for communication between the two sides on issues of mutual interest, Lin said.

In August last year, China and India successfully held the 24th round of talks, during which the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on the boundary question and reached a number of common understandings, he said.

During this round of talks, the two sides will continue the in-depth communication on the boundary question in the spirit of the common understandings between leaders of the two countries to jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil, he said.

The two sides will also exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues, he added.