China pitches 'good-neighbourly' ties with India during Doval-Wang talks

India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is in Beijing for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the two sides seek to steady ties after years of tensions. At their 25th round of Special Representatives' talks, Wang said Beijing was ready to strengthen communication with New Delhi and work towards becoming good-neighbourly and mutually beneficial partners.Wang described India and China as important neighbours and major developing economies, saying stable ties serve the interests of both countries and have significance beyond their bilateral relationship. He said Beijing wants to approach ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, strengthen understanding and overcome differences, with the aim of achieving harmonious coexistence between the dragon and the elephant.Wang also said both countries should learn from past experience and keep the border dispute in its "proper place" within the wider relationship. Dialogue, peace, consultation and cooperation, he said, should become the mainstream of China-India border affairs.PARTNERS, NOT COMPETITORS, SAYS DOVALDoval described India and China as ancient civilisations, populous nations and major economies that are "partners, not competitors". He said a stable, predictable and forward-looking relationship was in the interests of both peoples and important for Asia and the wider world. India's NSA said ties had returned to the "right track" under the direction of PM Modi and Xi, while border areas had remained broadly peaceful and exchanges between the two countries were steadily resuming. Doval said India was ready to deepen strategic communication, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthen multilateral engagement while working towards solutions to the boundary dispute.BORDER TALKS TO CONTINUEThe two sides discussed border demarcation, frontier management, institutional mechanisms and cross-border cooperation. They reaffirmed their commitment to political guiding principles agreed in 2005 and agreed to continue using the Special Representatives' mechanism to seek a "fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable" comprehensive settlement of the boundary question.The External Affairs Ministry said the two sides also welcomed the steady resumption of people-to-people and cross-border exchanges, including the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and border trade through three designated passes.The next round of Special Representatives' talks will be held in India in 2027.During his Beijing visit, Doval also met Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng. The two sides additionally exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. The meeting comes as both sides seek to build on agreements reached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October 2024 and Tianjin in August 2025.- EndsPublished By: Satyam SinghPublished On: Aug 25, 2026 22:34 IST