Doval in Beijing for 25th India-China boundary talks — SkimNews
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- Ajit Doval will visit Beijing on August 24-25, 2026 for the 25th round of Special Representatives talks on the India-China boundary question with Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi
- The visit precedes a possible Xi Jinping trip to India in September—his first in seven years—with bilateral Modi-Xi talks expected at India's BRICS Summit on September 12
- Both sides are exploring an "early harvest" agreement on boundary delimitation, with recent references suggesting focus on the Middle Sector (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) and Sikkim sector—areas without the active flashpoints of the Western and Eastern sectors
- Earlier this month, India and China restarted border trade through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim and Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand
- At the August 6 WMCC meeting, officials reviewed the LAC situation and held detailed exchanges on boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building, and trans-border cooperation
- The 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters marked the first of a three-stage boundary settlement process; both sides have since been working toward a framework, with the third stage involving actual delimitation and demarcation on maps and on the ground
Why it matters: By narrowing the boundary talks to the quieter Middle Sector and Sikkim—avoiding the Western (Eastern Ladakh) and Eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) flashpoints—both India and China are signaling they want a deliverable before the September BRICS Summit. If an early-harvest deal is announced, it would mark the first concrete delimitation progress since the 2005 framework agreement and could unlock Xi's first India visit in seven years.
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