India, China hold 35th WMCC talks in Beijing, discuss border management and bilateral ties

India and China held the 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing on May 27, with both sides expressing satisfaction over progress in maintaining peace and tranquility along the border and agreeing to continue efforts towards normalising bilateral relations.

The Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, while the Chinese side was headed by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Affairs Department of China’s foreign ministry.

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According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the discussions were “constructive and forward looking”.

“The two sides reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made in maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas, which has enabled progress towards gradual normalization of bilateral relations,” the MEA said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The two countries also discussed issues related to “delimitation, border management, mechanism building and cross-border cooperation”, the statement said.

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India stressed the need for an early meeting of the next Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers, the MEA added.

Both sides agreed to maintain regular diplomatic and military-level exchanges through existing mechanisms, including those agreed during the 24th round of Special Representatives (SR) talks.

The two countries also agreed to work together to prepare for the next meeting of the Special Representatives, which is scheduled to be held in China.

During the visit, Ghosh met Liu Jinsong, Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese foreign ministry, and also called on Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei.