Ajit Doval Meets Wang Yi In Beijing: What’s On The Table In India-China Talks?

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is in Beijing for the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks with China, with discussions expected to focus on maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and consolidating the gradual improvement in bilateral ties.

Doval is scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his counterpart in the Special Representatives’ mechanism, on Tuesday.

The talks come at a sensitive stage in India-China relations, with both sides attempting to stabilise ties after the military tensions that followed the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

Border Stability Takes Centre Stage

The discussions are expected to cover the situation along the 3,488-km LAC, including border management, confidence-building measures and mechanisms to prevent a fresh escalation.

The two sides are also likely to review the disengagement arrangements reached in October 2024 and discuss steps towards restoring patrolling rights and gradually normalising conditions along the frontier.

An expert group formed under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs is examining possible early measures towards boundary delimitation in selected sectors.

The talks could also cover strengthening border-management arrangements in the eastern and middle sectors, alongside the existing mechanism for the western sector.

Doval-Wang Talks Ahead Of Expected Xi Visit

Doval’s meeting with Wang comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.

Neither Beijing nor New Delhi has formally confirmed Xi’s participation, but his expected presence could create an opportunity for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi and Xi last met in August 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.

Following the disengagement process in eastern Ladakh, both sides have taken several steps towards restoring normal bilateral engagement.

These have included the resumption of direct flights, easing of visa restrictions and the restarting of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

India Stresses Peace Along LAC

The Doval-Wang discussions are taking place amid reports of increased Chinese military activity near Arunachal Pradesh.

Beijing has maintained that the border situation is currently "generally stable".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on August 12 that the two countries had agreed to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels and work together to preserve peace along the border.

New Delhi, meanwhile, has repeatedly linked the broader relationship with the situation along the LAC.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are a prerequisite for stable India-China relations, pointing to the period between 2020 and 2024 as a particularly difficult phase in bilateral ties.

What Is At Stake In The Special Representatives’ Talks?

The Special Representatives mechanism was established in 2003 to explore a framework for resolving the India-China boundary dispute.

At the previous round of talks in New Delhi, both sides reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border and acknowledged that a stable frontier is necessary for improving the wider relationship.

They also reaffirmed the need for a political approach towards a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable boundary settlement, guided by the 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.

For Doval and Wang, the immediate priority is therefore likely to be keeping the border stable while building on the limited normalisation achieved since 2024.

The talks could also help establish the diplomatic groundwork for any higher-level engagement between Modi and Xi if the Chinese president travels to India next month.