Ministry of External Affairs said in a release that
the resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the
leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations,
including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.
India and China had reached
an agreement in October on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and
Demchok, two friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The understanding was reached after earlier
disengagement in other friction points in eastern Ladakh following meetings at
diplomatic and military levels.
External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar said
in his remarks in Parliament in December last year that the conclusion of
disengagement has set the bilateral ties “in the direction of some
improvement”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines
of the 16th BRICS Summit at Kazan on October 23, 2024.
PM Modi had welcomed the agreement for
complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 in the India–China border areas and underscored the importance of
properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb
peace and tranquility.
The two
leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India–China boundary
question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and
tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually
acceptable solution to the boundary question.
The
two leaders had also affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral
relations between India and China, as two neighbours and the two largest nations on
earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.
The two
leaders had underlined the need to progress bilateral relations from a
strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and
explore cooperation to address developmental challenges.
Special
Representatives (SRs) of India and China NSA
Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party
of China (CPC)
Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met in Beijing on December
18 last year.