(TibetanReview.net, Jun24’26) – India has described as “constructive and forward-looking” talks held between its national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jun 22 on the sidelines of a BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed recent developments in their relationship and “noted progress towards gradual normalisation”, the PTI news agency Jun 22 quoted India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as saying in a statement. China has also reported positively on the meeting, but downplayed the importance of the difficult boundary issue in overall ties.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two sides assessed progress in bilateral engagement and acknowledged advances made towards the gradual restoration of normal relations. Doval emphasised that stable, predictable and constructive ties are essential for building confidence and enhancing cooperation, reported the ANI news service Jun 22.
India, the current chair of the BRICS group, was hosting a meeting of the BRICS national security advisers in New Delhi over Jun 22-23.
The Doval-Wang engagement is viewed as part of continuing efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to stabilise relations following the prolonged tensions that emerged after the 2020 Ladakh-border clashes. Since 2024, both countries have taken steps aimed at reducing friction and restoring diplomatic engagement through regular dialogue, the report noted.
Wang has said that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, exchanges in various fields between China and India have gradually resumed, cooperation and communication are proceeding in an orderly manner, and the border areas have remained generally peaceful and stable. These achievements have not come easily and should be all the more cherished, China’s official globaltimes.cn Jun 23 cited Wang as saying.
The report further cited Wang as saying the two sides should respect each other’s core interests, properly handle sensitive issues, place the China-India boundary question in an appropriate position, and prevent it from affecting the overall bilateral relationship.
Thus, downplaying the urgency to resolve the boundary disputes, which have led to frequent skirmishes, and even violent clashes in the past, the Chinese Foreign Minister has said the two sides should take concrete actions to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, support each other’s development and revitalization through cooperation, and promote the accelerated modernization of the Global South.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement also quoted Doval as telling Wang that “India was one of the earliest countries to recognise New China” and that “India’s position on the Taiwan question has not changed in any way”, as per a report by thehindu.com Jun 23.
According to the ANI report, India has consistently maintained that a stable and cooperative relationship between the two countries, based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, is important not only for their own development but also for the emergence of a multipolar world and a multipolar Asia, which has been its way of underling to China the importance of maintaining the peace along the border.
The BRICS bloc is an intergovernmental coalition of eleven major emerging markets and developing nations made up of the founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with newer members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).