BEIJING (Reuters) – China and India took a further step towards easing their long-running border dispute on Wednesday, with senior officials holding formal talks for the first time in five years and committing to finding mutually-acceptable solutions.
The meeting in Beijing between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval followed a milestone pact two months ago on lowering military tensions at a contested part of their border.
Wang called on the two sides to engage in candid communication, enhance mutual trust and promote collaboration, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
The two officials reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to seek a package of solutions to the dispute that was fair and acceptable for both, the ministry said.
They also agreed on the need to strengthen routine control and management of the border to maintain peace in the western Himalayan frontier area.
Wednesday’s meeting marked the first formal talks between the two countries’ special representatives on Sino-India border issues since late 2019. Paving the way for the talks was an agreement in October allowing for the disengagement of their troops at two face-off points.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Angus MacSwan)
