On December 18, 2024, India and China will host a major conference of their Special Representatives in Beijing. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will meet for the 23rd time to discuss the China-India boundary issue. In light of the recent agreement on troop disengagement in eastern Ladakh, which was achieved on October 21, 2024, the talks are intended to investigate potential measures towards normalising bilateral relations.
Following a five-year break in the Special Representatives dialogue—the last meeting took place in December 2019—the forthcoming discussions are vital. The intricate border dispute, which spans roughly 3,488 kilometres, was addressed by the establishment of the discussion mechanism in 2003.
On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 23, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to rekindle this conversation. Since then, the two countries have held a number of diplomatic talks, such as the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination meeting in New Delhi on December 5, where they underlined the importance of keeping the Line of Actual Control (LAC) peaceful and managing the border effectively.
Managing peace and tranquilly in border areas and finding a just and mutually agreeable solution to the boundary disputes that have soured relations since 2020 will be the main goals of the next round of negotiations.
It is anticipated that Ajit Doval will reach Beijing before
