NSA Ajit Doval, Wang Yi hold India-China border talks

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the 21st round of border talks in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Saturday, officials said. Besides the border dispute, the two senior officials at the picturesque Dujiangyan city, would also review the progress made in bilateral ties since the Wuhan Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in April, officials said.

Doval and Wang are the designated special representatives for border talks between India and China. The talks were expected to be concluded later Saturday. This is the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year. Wang has become the state councillor, a rank higher than the foreign minister in the Chinese government’s hierarchy.

Announcing the talks on November 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang presented an upbeat picture of the bilateral ties saying, “We have properly managed the differences through dialogue and consultation. The border areas on the whole maintained stability”. Officials maintain that this round of talks may focus more on reviewing the progress on trade and maintenance of peace at borders than movement towards a solution to the border dispute as India is headed for general elections next year.