There is an upward trend in India-China ties, NSA Ajit Doval says

There is an upward trend in India-China relations and bilateral engagements between the neighbours have been more substantial, India's national security advisor Ajit Doval told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday as they began border talks.

"The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interests of the people of our two countries. And then in October last year, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi had an important meeting in Kazan. That meeting pointed the direction for the development of our bilateral relations and provided impetus for the proper settlement of the boundary question..."

Doval also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China to attend the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).


It is the first official confirmation of Modi's travel to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the summit on August 31 and September 1.

Doval hoped that the 24th Special Representatives (SR) talks will be "successful".

In his televised opening remarks at a new edition of the Special Representatives' Dialogue on boundary question, Doval also highlighted the "new energy and momentum" in India-China ties as well as peace along the border.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, "India and China should follow the strategic guidance of their leaders and increase mutual trust through strategic communication, expand common interest through exchanges and cooperation, and properly settle the specific issues in the borders so as to advance our relationship in a healthy and sound manner."

He added, "Just now we had in-depth and detailed communication in the small group meeting. At the large group meeting, I am ready to work with you to build more consensus and identify the direction, the specific goals of the next boundary consultations going forward and create more conditions for the improvement and further growth of our bilateral relations."

The Chinese foreign minister landed in Delhi on Monday primarily to hold the SR talks with Doval.

Wang's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

In the SR talks, both sides are expected to deliberate on new confidence-building measures besides reviewing the overall situation along the LAC.

Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.

NSA Doval travelled to China in December last and held the SR talks with Wang, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan.

The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

In the last few months, the two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.