21st Indo-China special representative border talks to take place on November 23, 24

The 21st special representative (SR) border talks between India and China will take place on November 23, 24. The talks on border issues between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will happen in Chengdu, Sichuan province of China this year. 

The talks will take place ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of G20.

Announcing the visit, Chinese foreign minister spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "Two sides attach great importance to it. The two Special Representatives will have an in-depth exchange of views on border-related issues. They will follow the guidance of the consensus reached by the two leaders bearing in mind the general picture of bilateral ties on the basis of the outcomes that have been achieved to actively promote the negotiations. At the same time, will promptly manage differences and uphold the peace and tranquillity of the border areas."

This meeting is the first after Wang Yi took over as a special representative. The SR talks this year are happening in the backdrop of three bilateral meetings between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including the famous informal Wuhan summit that took place in April this year.

Spokesperson Geng Shuang added, "under the strategic guidance of the two leaders, the Indo-China relations have maintained sound growth with ever deepening exchanges and cooperation in all areas. The two sides have maintained close communication and correlation in border-related affairs. We have promptly managed differences through dialogue and consultation. The border areas have on the whole maintained stability."

The 20th SR talks took place in Delhi in 2017 with the meeting between NSA Doval and the then Chinese special representative Yang Jiechi. The talk that year took place under the shadow of the Doklam crisis.

SR talks, a mechanism came into existence in 2003 and happens alternatively between India and China every year.