BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) – China and India reaffirmed their commitment to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas as they seek “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement,” China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday after high-level boundary talks in Beijing.
• The two sides agreed on an eight-point consensus, the ministry said, including new military hotlines and working groups on boundary delimitation, marking an expansion of communication channels between the two nuclear powers as they work towards settling their long-disputed Himalayan border.
• China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday and had “comprehensive, in-depth, friendly and candid” discussions on border affairs and bilateral ties.
• They agreed to add two meeting points for commander-level talks and establish two new military hotlines in the eastern and central sectors of the border.
• Two groups will be tasked with advancing discussions to make early progress on boundary delimitation and border management, the ministry said.
• Both sides also agreed to boost cooperation in border trade and pilgrimages and to foster an atmosphere of dialogue, peace, consultation and cooperation along the border.
• They pledged to hold a new round of expert-level talks on trans-border rivers in September and remain in contact on hydrological data sharing and renewal of the relevant memorandums of understanding.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
