China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi holds in-depth and constructive talks with India's Special Representative and National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval on December 18, 2024. Photo: China Foreign Ministry

The 23rd meeting of Special Representatives for China-India Boundary Question was held on Wednesday in Beijing where six points of consensus were reached.

China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi held in-depth and constructive talks with India's Special Representative and National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval. 

Both sides positively evaluated the resolution reached on border-related issues between the two countries and reaffirmed the need to continue implementing the agreement. They agreed that border issues should be handled appropriately in the context of the overall bilateral relationship to ensure they do not affect the development of bilateral ties. Both sides also agreed to continue taking measures to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to seek a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable package solution to the border issue in accordance with the political guiding principles agreed upon by the two countries' special representatives in 2005, and to taking active measures to advance this process.

The two sides assessed the border situation and agreed to further refine the management rules for the border areas, strengthen confidence-building measures, and achieve sustainable peace and stability along the border.

Both sides agreed to continue enhancing cross-border communication and cooperation, promoting the resumption of pilgrimages by Indian pilgrims to Xizang, cooperation on cross-border rivers, and trade at the Nathu La Pass.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen the Special Representatives meeting mechanism, enhance coordination and cooperation in diplomatic and military negotiations, and tasked the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC) with ensuring the follow-up implementation of this Special Representatives meeting.

Both sides agreed to hold a new round of Special Representatives meeting in India next year, with the specific date to be determined through diplomatic channels.

As two major developing countries, representatives of emerging economies, and important members of the Global South, the healthy and stable development of China-India relations aligns with the fundamental interests of over 2.8 billion people in both countries and is in accordance with the historical trend of the Global South's remarkable growth, Wang Yi said in the meeting. 

Wang Yi told Doval that the special meeting is a timely and powerful measure to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries. It is also the first formal special meeting in five years, which is hard-won and should be cherished. 

Both sides should adopt a spirit of summarizing experiences, looking to the future, and pursuing win-win cooperation, communicate openly, enhance mutual trust, build consensus, and promote cooperation, investing their valuable resources into development and revitalization. The border issue should be placed in an appropriate position within bilateral relations, jointly maintaining peace and stability in border areas, and pushing for the early return of China-India relations to a healthy and stable development track, Wang said. 

"The resumption of the Special Representatives' meeting sends a signal that both sides are willing and confident to resolve border disputes through peaceful negotiations," Long Xingchun, a professor from the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The meeting is beneficial for fostering mutual trust between the two countries and contributes to the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border regions, Long said.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, said that after the Kazan meeting between the two leaders, a Special Representatives' meeting was held soon after, indicating that both sides are actively working to resolve the border issue and taking actions to further restore mutual trust. "This is a positive sign of facilitating the early return of China-India relations to a healthy development track," Qian told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The expert further noted that the Special Representatives' meeting is not only an important platform agreed upon by both sides to discuss solutions to the boundary issue, but also a platform for the heads of diplomatic and security affairs from both sides to engage in direct communication. "Therefore, this meeting is also expected to lay the foundation for further deepening of common interests between the two countries and continuing to advance cooperation in multiple areas," Qian said.