Ajit Doval Travels to Beijing for 25th Round of India-China Border Talks

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday for the 25th round of Special Representatives talks on the boundary question with China’s Wang Yi.

The formal meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. Doval and Wang serve as the designated Special Representatives under the mechanism established in 2003. The last formal SR round took place in New Delhi in August 2025.

The talks occur weeks before the BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend. Officials on both sides have described recent contacts as steps toward gradual normalisation of relations after the 2020 Galwan clash and subsequent standoff.

Wang, who is also China’s Foreign Minister, met Doval on the sidelines of a BRICS NSA gathering in New Delhi in June. At that time both sides stressed the need to respect core interests and keep the boundary issue from overshadowing broader ties.

India is expected to raise concerns over troop positions, de-escalation measures, and cross-border terrorism. China has previously characterised the border situation as generally stable. The 3,488-kilometre disputed boundary remains unresolved, though both governments have sought to prevent incidents from escalating into wider confrontation.

Successful management of the border question is viewed in New Delhi as a prerequisite for any meaningful improvement in trade, investment and political dialogue with Beijing.