NSA Ajit Doval Arrives in Beijing for 25th Round of India-China Talks
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has arrived in Beijing for the 25th round of Special Representatives talks concerning the India-China boundary issue. Doval will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, with discussions scheduled for Tuesday. This round of talks is particularly significant as it precedes the expected visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India for the BRICS summit on September 12-13. Although Xi's attendance has not been officially confirmed, there is optimism on both sides regarding the potential for a meeting between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss enhancing bilateral relations.
The boundary talks mechanism, established in 2003, aims to find a comprehensive resolution to the longstanding border dispute that spans approximately 3,488 kilometers. While previous meetings have not resolved the dispute, both nations view the dialogue as a valuable platform for managing tensions and addressing differences. Doval and Wang last convened in August 2025 during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.
Ahead of the upcoming discussions, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility along the border for fostering good relations between India and China. He reiterated that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is critical to the overall trajectory of bilateral ties.
India has previously rejected China's criticism regarding its decision to assign official names to 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India. China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, has been issuing its own names for places in the region since 2017, a practice India has dismissed as baseless and ineffective in altering the reality of its territorial claims.
