China-India hold border talks, Beijing says to speed up negotiations

Days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, India and China held the 30th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi on Wednesday. After the meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry stated that both countries have agreed to speed up the negotiations over the border dispute, as news agency Reuters reported.

Both countries, as per the official statement, held “constructive” and “forward-looking” talks over resolving the border standoff.

Highlighting the "essential basis" for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral ties, the Chinese foreign ministry stated that both countries will continue to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border-disputed areas.

The meeting was focused on resolving a longstanding dispute over their poorly demarcated Himalayan border.

The Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Further to discussions between the two Foreign Ministers in their recent meetings at Astana and Vientiane, the two sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with a view to finding an early resolution of the outstanding issues. Restoration of peace and tranquility and respect for the LAC are essential basis for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations. They agreed on the need to jointly uphold peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two governments," the Ministry of External Affairs stated in an official statement.

Earlier, on July 25, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang held talks in Vientiane on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings.