China and India affirmed their commitment to improving bilateral ties and maintaining border peace in a meeting in Beijing on Monday between Ajit Doval, the Indian national security adviser, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Wang said there had been some progress in bilateral relations and it was essential for both sides to further improve communication, build mutual trust, and work towards resolving practical issues, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
He called on both sides to stick to the consensus that they were 鈥渆ach other鈥檚 development opportunities, not threats鈥 and 鈥減artners, not rivals鈥 to achieve a win-win outcome.
鈥淏oth sides must uphold the principle of good-neighbourly friendship, strive for mutual benefit, and demonstrate the historical wisdom of two great ancient civilisations by properly handling sensitive issues and maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas.鈥
Wang added that Beijing and New Delhi should put more focus on areas of cooperation and strengthen exchanges across various levels and fields.
Doval is in China for a gathering of senior national security officials from member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional bloc that focuses on security.
According to a Delhi statement issued on Monday after the Wang-Doval meeting, both sides underscored the need to promote the overall development of India-China relations, including by fostering greater people-to-people ties.
During the meeting 鈥 which took place a month and a half after a confrontation between India and Pakistan 鈥 Doval also emphasised the need to 鈥渃ounter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to maintain overall peace and stability in the region鈥, it said.
The conflict between the rival nuclear states erupted after the Pahalgam attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir in late April, which killed more than 20 people.
Delhi, which has consistently maintained that Islamabad supports terrorism in Kashmir, accused Pakistan-based insurgent groups of orchestrating the attack. Pakistan has denied any involvement or support.
However, Beijing found itself in the limelight during the four-day conflict when Pakistan claimed that its Chinese-manufactured J-10C fighters had shot down several Indian warplanes.
Wang previously hosted Doval in Beijing in December when the two sides agreed to rebuild ties after the severe downturn that followed a military stand-off in eastern Ladakh. That crisis began in May 2020 and escalated to a deadly border clash a month later.
The stand-off in the Galwan Valley along the disputed Himalayan border between China and India was resolved after a disengagement process at the final two friction points, Demchok and Depsang, was completed under an agreement reached in October last year.
As part of broader efforts to reset ties, China and India also agreed to work on resuming direct flights, visa issuance and the return of Indian pilgrims to a sacred mountain and lake in China鈥檚 Tibet autonomous region.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the first group of pilgrims arrived in southwest Tibet on Friday to begin their 12-day pilgrimage, with a second group expected to enter China on Wednesday.