India and China have recently shown a renewed determination to improve their ties following the disengagement along the Line of Actual Control just over a month ago. The relationship between the two most populous nations had been stagnant since the military standoff in Ladakh more than four years ago.
However, since November, the momentum has shifted dramatically, with both sides seeming eager to make up for the lost time since 2020. New Delhi and Beijing recognize that for lasting peace in Asia, the two giants must lead the way. A key starting point for this is finding a resolution to the boundary issue, which both nations have made a priority.
On Wednesday, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing for high-level talks focused on the boundary dispute. While New Delhi has not officially confirmed the meeting, Beijing has announced it in a foreign ministry statement.
“Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will meet on Wednesday in Beijing to discuss the China-India boundary question,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian in a statement on Monday.
As per the agreement between the two countries, this will be the 23rd meeting of Special Representatives for the China-India boundary question, scheduled to take place in Beijing on December 18, according to Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong on X.
This meeting will be the first of its kind in five years, the last one having taken place in New Delhi in December 2019.
Since their first meeting over a decade ago, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have prioritized finding a solution for effective border management. The December 2019 meeting was the 22nd in a series of discussions aimed at resolving differences along the more than 4,000 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The LAC lacks clear demarcations, and both countries have differing views on where the boundary lies, which cuts through some of the world’s harshest and most challenging terrain, including the highest mountain ranges, the Himalayas. Originally a border between India and Tibet, the LAC is now considered the boundary between India and China following China’s takeover of Tibet in 1959.
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Over the years, there have been multiple military face-offs between border patrol parties, each with their own understanding of where the boundary lies—whether it’s a specific mountain, valley, or river that marks the LAC. Although buffer zones have been established at various points along the LAC, disagreements still arise over how the boundary is delineated.
In an effort to address these issues, India and China began boundary talks, but progress stalled after the deadly clashes between their armies in Galwan Valley in Ladakh in 2020, which resulted in casualties on both sides.
It took more than four years of diplomatic and military efforts for both sides to reach a disengagement agreement, finalized in October this year. This led to a rare formal meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, the first in five years, which took place on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia.
