China-India meeting on border issues ‘a positive signal’

China and India held their 31st meeting of the working mechanism for consultations and coordination on border affairs, the second within a month and with the shortest interval in the series of meetings, except for 2020 when six rounds of talks were held after the Galwan skirmish. Analysts said the recent frequent interactions between China and India signal that both sides are actively seeking to accelerate a resolution to the border standoff and to get bilateral relations back on track.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Hong Liang and Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division of Ministry of External Affairs of India Gourangalal Das co-chaired the 31st Meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on China-India Border Affairs in Beijing on Thursday.

The release noted that the meeting was held in a "positive, friendly and frank atmosphere" and the two sides agreed to work together to turn over a new leaf in the border situation at an early date.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, said that recently, communication and negotiations between China and India on border issues have shown positive progress.

The Thursday meeting was the second within a month. The foreign ministers from China and India had also met twice in July, which indicates that both sides are actively seeking to accelerate a resolution to border standoff issues, Qian said.

China and India held six rounds of WMCC meetings on border affairs in 2020 following the Galwan Valley border skirmish on June 15, 2020. Except for that year, since the first WMCC meeting on border affairs started in 2012, the two sides have held WMCC meetings on border affairs one to three times a year, analysts said.

Qian said the recent interactions between China and India are positive signals as China-India relations are emerging from a low point and stabilizing. Both countries are looking for a common solution to put bilateral relations back onto a healthy development track.

This Thursday meeting is not intended to solve the border problem once and for all but provides a new perspective on resolving the standoff in the western sector that has lasted over four years. Overall, despite current uncertainties, the positive attitude and efforts of both sides have been commendable, Qian said.