Ajit Doval in Beijing for 25th round of India-China boundary talks

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval reached Beijing on the afternoon of 24 August 2026 for a two-day visit. On 25 August he is scheduled to hold the 25th round of Special Representatives talks on the India-China boundary question with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also China’s Special Representative.

Doval will also call on Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the schedule in a statement issued after his arrival.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the talks would include in-depth communication on the boundary question “in the spirit of the common understandings between leaders of the two countries” and would cover bilateral, regional and international issues. He noted that the previous round, held in August 2025, had produced common understandings and that both sides wanted to keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil.

The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs met earlier in August 2026 and reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control. Officials agreed to set up an Expert Group to explore early harvest measures on boundary delimitation.

Relations between the two countries have moved through careful steps since the October 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan. China has described the border situation as generally stable. India has repeated that the overall state of bilateral ties will continue to reflect conditions on the ground.

The timing of the Special Representatives round is notable because President Xi is expected in India for the BRICS summit on 12-13 September 2026. That visit would be his first to India in several years. The Beijing talks give both sides a chance to clear the ground on border management and delimitation before the leaders meet.

The Special Representatives mechanism remains the primary political channel for boundary negotiations. It sits above the military and diplomatic working groups and has the mandate to address both the alignment of the Line of Actual Control and the eventual settlement of the boundary itself.