A Reading of India’s and China’s Statements after the Meeting of Special Representatives
On Wednesday (December 18), Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor of India, and Wang Yi, Member of the Politburo and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held the 23rd round of talks between the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China on the boundary question.
In this issue, I’ll look at what both sides had to say after this very significant meeting. Significant because it’s the first time the SRs have met in 5 years - since Wang Yi’s visit to India in late 2019. And significant because it’s the first meeting since relations were plunged to a new low after the boundary crisis that began in April 2020.
China had more to say than India did after Wednesday’s talks. India put out a 380 word readout that you can find here . China put out two statements (at the time of writing, both only in Mandarin). Its readout of the meeting is twice as long. In addition, Beijing also put out a statement on a “Six Point Consensus” reached by both sides.
I am highlighting in bold what I found significant and have added brief comments on the two sides’ positions on issues of importance. If you’re reading this in your Inbox, you may wish to click on the headline to read in your browser.
What both sides had to say on the context and background to the meeting:
India:
The SRs met in accordance with the decision taken during the recent meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan for them to meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace & tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. The SRs reiterated the importance of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question, and resolved to inject more vitality into this process.
China:
Wang Yi said that in October this year, President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi in Kazan, positively evaluated the progress made by China and India in resolving relevant issues in the border area, and reached important consensus on improving and developing China-India relations. The leaders of the two countries insisted on viewing China-India relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective…. and clarified the direction for the restoration and development of China-India relations at a critical moment. Next year will usher in the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. Looking back on the ups and downs of China-India relations over the past 70 years, the most valuable experience accumulated by both sides is to adhere to the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries on bilateral relations, to establish a correct understanding of each other, to adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and to properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation. As two major developing countries in the world, representatives of emerging economies and important members of the Global South, the healthy and stable development of China-India relations is in line with the fundamental interests of more than 2.8 billion people of the two countries and the historical trend of the Global South's remarkable growth.
Comment: China’s reading strikes me as a tad more grandiose. India emphasises the border more as a central issue. China, as we will see later, again calls for the border to be in an appropriate place in the relationship. This is, I think, also what China refers to above in calling “to establish a correct understanding of each other”.
What both sides had to say about the border situation:
India:
This was the first meeting of the SRs since frictions had emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in 2020. The SRs positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas. Both SRs underlined the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas to promote overall development of the India-China bilateral relationship. They emphasised the need to ensure peaceful conditions on the ground so that issues on the border do not hold back the normal development of bilateral relations. Drawing on the learnings from the events of 2020, they discussed various measures to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border and advance effective border management. They decided to use, coordinate and guide the relevant diplomatic and military mechanisms towards this purpose.
China:
Wang Yi stressed that today's special representatives' meeting is a timely and powerful measure to implement the consensus of the leaders of the two countries. It is also the first formal meeting of special representatives in five years. It is hard-won and worth cherishing. The two sides should, in the spirit of summing up experience, facing the future, and cooperating for win-win results, communicate frankly, enhance mutual trust, accumulate consensus, promote cooperation, invest their respective precious resources in development and revitalization, put the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, and promote China-India relations to return to the track of healthy and stable development as soon as possible.
The two sides reiterated that they will seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable package of solutions to the border issue in accordance with the political guiding principles reached in 2005. At the same time, in the spirit of starting with the easy and then the difficult, and proceeding step by step, a roadmap for the next step of work will be formed. Both sides emphasized the need to give full play to the role of the meeting mechanism of special representatives on border issues, strengthen the normalized control of the border situation, and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border area.
As mentioned, China also said both arrived at a “Six Point Consensus”:
1. The two sides positively evaluated the solution reached by the two countries on border-related issues, reiterated that they should continue to do a good job in implementation, and believed that the border issue should be properly handled from the overall situation of bilateral relations and should not affect the development of bilateral relations. The two sides agreed to continue to take measures to maintain peace and tranquility in the border area and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
2. The two sides reiterated that in accordance with the political guiding principles reached by the special representatives of the two countries on resolving the border issue in 2005, they will continue to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable package solution to the border issue and take positive measures to promote this process.
3. The two sides assessed the border situation and agreed to further refine the border area control rules, strengthen confidence-building measures, and achieve sustainable peace and tranquility on the border.
4. Both sides agreed to continue to strengthen cross-border exchanges and cooperation, promote the resumption of Indian pilgrims' pilgrimage to Tibet, China, cross-border river cooperation and Nathula border trade, etc.
5. Both sides agreed to further strengthen the construction of the special representatives' meeting mechanism, strengthen diplomatic and military negotiation coordination and cooperation, and require the China-India Border Affairs Consultation and Coordination Working Mechanism (WMCC) to do a good job in the follow-up implementation of this special representatives' meeting.
6. Both sides agreed to hold a new round of special representatives' meeting in India next year, and the specific time will be agreed through diplomatic channels.
In addition, the two sides also exchanged views extensively and in-depth on bilateral, international and regional issues of common concern, emphasizing the importance of a stable, predictable and good China-India relationship to international and regional peace and stability.
COMMENT: There are three points of agreement here in both statements that are worth noting.
Firstly, both ‘positively’ evaluated where things are at.
Secondly, both agreed on the need for further measures to enhance confidence along the borders. Which is welcome, if it does happen. This should obviously include, at a start, de-escalation and de-induction of troops in the border areas.
Thirdly, both statements mentioned an agreement on cross-border cooperation such as resuming the Kailash yatra for Indian pilgrims, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade. India’s statement had this to say on the matter: The SRs exchanged views on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. They provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade.
Finally, on the global situation, which, in some sense, is driving this attempt at repairing relations (‘repairing’ to me is a better descriptor than ‘resetting’ which I’ve seen some people use, and which, to me, overstates where relations are at’:
The Chinese statement noted that the two sides also exchanged views on international and regional affairs of common concern, and will adhere to the practice of multilateralism, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the global South countries, and promote the development of the international order in a fair and reasonable direction.
The Indian statement said they agreed on the salience of stable, predictable and amicable India-China relations for regional and global peace and prosperity.
As readers know, India-China ties have been anything but stable and predictable. It’s fair to say that predictability is one thing that both sides will, at the moment at least, certainly welcome.