What happened: Ajit Doval’s Beijing trip for the 25th SR talks on the India–China boundary question

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is expected to travel to Beijing on Monday and Tuesday for the 25th round of talks between special representatives on the India–China boundary question. The Beijing programme is also expected to include meetings with Chinese Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to review the broader bilateral relationship.

The timing of the Beijing visit is discussed in relation to India’s hosting of the BRICS Summit on September 12. The account links the schedule to preparation around the reported possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a seven-year gap.

The account recalls that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. The account also recalls the framing of India–China relations as moving toward gradual normalization and stresses language such as development partners rather than rivals.

Background and earlier position: WMCC border talks and the 2005 staged boundary settlement approach

Ajit Doval’s Beijing trip follows an August 6 meeting between India and China under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs. In that WMCC meeting, both sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the effective control reference line used for border management.

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