New Delhi, Aug. 25: Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday met with Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of China, for the 25th Round of the Special Representatives (SR) talks in Beijing.

Doval and Wang are the designated SRs for the boundary talks mechanism, which was established in 2003 to comprehensively address the dispute of the India-China border spanning 3,488 km.

Ahead of the talks, Doval called on Han Zheng, Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China, during which they discussed “ways to strengthen peace and tranquility in the border areas”.

Han was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying: “China and India should view and handle bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and work together to implement the important consensus reached by their leaders.”

“The two sides should enhance strategic mutual trust, tap the potential for cooperation, maintain close multilateral coordination, properly manage differences, and promote the sustained and stable development of China-India relations,” he said.

Doval said that as the world’s two most populous and fastest-growing major economies, India and China have a “historic opportunity” for cooperation, adding that India stands ready to work with China to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, properly address the boundary question and make new progress in bilateral relations.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said that the “NSA and VP Han discussed ways to strengthen peace & tranquility in the border areas and further improve bilateral relations across economic, political and multilateral fora, in accordance with the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries.”

Doval’s visit comes ahead of next month’s expected trip to India by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the September 12 BRICS Summit, and provides both sides the opportunity to take stock of the relationship.

Ties have gradually normalised following the October 2024 meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi in Kazan, Russia.