Ajit Doval To Meet Wang Yi For 25th India-China Boundary Talks

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is travelling to Beijing on Monday for the 25th round of India-China Special Representatives' talks on the boundary question. Doval is scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, with border stability and further de-escalation expected to be among the key issues under discussion. The talks come as both countries seek to consolidate recent progress following years of military tensions along the Line of Actual Control.

Doval and Wang Yi serve as the Special Representatives under a dialogue mechanism established in 2003 to address the long-standing India-China boundary dispute. The process covers the approximately 3,488-km disputed frontier, but progress was disrupted following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the subsequent military standoff in eastern Ladakh. The talks resumed in December 2024, when the 23rd round was held in Beijing, followed by the 24th round in New Delhi in August 2025.

For Doval, the upcoming visit will mark his first trip to Beijing for Special Representatives-level boundary talks since the dialogue mechanism resumed. Both governments have recently signalled efforts towards improving bilateral relations after years of tensions. The meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for the two sides to assess the implementation of the October 2024 disengagement understanding and examine whether the relative calm along the Line of Actual Control has been sustained.

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The agenda is expected to extend beyond troop positions to include de-escalation, boundary delimitation and mechanisms for managing border areas. India is also likely to raise its concerns over cross-border terrorism, an issue it brought up during the previous round of Special Representatives' talks. Beijing has described the border situation as generally stable, while officials from both sides have been working to implement understandings reached during earlier discussions.

The latest meeting follows discussions between Doval and Wang in June on the sidelines of a gathering of BRICS national security advisers in New Delhi. Although that interaction was not a formal Special Representatives meeting, both sides discussed progress towards gradual normalisation of relations. The improvement has also been reflected in the resumption of direct flights, easing of some visa procedures and the return of the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage, alongside increased economic engagement and record bilateral trade in 2025.

The Beijing talks also carry significance for the broader India-China diplomatic engagement. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to potentially visit India later in September for the BRICS summit, making the outcome and atmosphere of the Special Representatives' meeting particularly important. Progress on border management could help create conditions for further high-level contact between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi and contribute to the gradual stabilisation of bilateral ties.

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