As
India and China seek to bring a thaw in their frozen ties, both sides have
decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on the boundary question to
ensure restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas even as
friction points like Demchok and Depsang have been resolved.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday on the
sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2024 that took place in Kazan, Russia. During the meeting that took place between both
leaders after a gap of five years, PM Modi said “mutual trust, mutual respect
and mutual sensitivity” should be the basis of the bilateral ties between both
neighbours even as they decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on
the boundary question.
The Special Representatives talks on the
boundary question, popularly known as the SR-level dialogue mechanism, was
institutionalised in 2003 after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
visit to China. India’s SR is National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and
his Chinese counterpart is Foreign Minister and Politburo Member Wang Yi, who
is Beijing’s SR.
“Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, and Mutual
Sensitivity should continue to be the basis of our relations. Today we have got an opportunity to
discuss all these issues. I am confident that we will talk with an open mind,
and our discussion will be constructive,” Modi told Xi during the bilateral
meeting.