‘Borders Quiet, Tensions Ease’: India, China Hold Special Representatives Talks

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday said India-China relations have shown an “upward trend” over the past nine months, with peace and tranquillity prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He made the remarks during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi under the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism.

The meeting comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on August 31–September 1.

Recalling his December visit to Beijing for the last round of SR talks, Doval noted: “Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquillity, and our bilateral engagements have been more substantial.”

Echoing the sentiment, Wang Yi said India and China should regard each other as “partners rather than adversaries or threats.” He added, “We are happy to share that stability has now been restored at the borders. The setbacks we faced in the last few years were not in the interest of our two peoples.”

Wang underlined Beijing’s priorities going forward, stressing the need to:

• Enhance mutual trust through strategic communication.
• Address specific border issues through dialogue.
• Strengthen cooperation in line with broader regional and global interests.

He also highlighted China’s expectations from Prime Minister Modi’s participation at the SCO summit, describing the current phase of diplomacy as “an important opportunity for improvement and growth.”

While de-escalation along the LAC remains incomplete, Tuesday’s dialogue reflected cautious optimism. Both sides signalled intent to consolidate recent gains and pursue practical cooperation to stabilise ties.

“We are ready to work with India to build more consensus, identify concrete goals in the boundary consultations, and create better conditions for the growth of our relations,” Wang said.

Team BharatShakti