India, China discuss issues related to delimitation, border management

Beijing: New Delhi and Beijing held the 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) and discussed issues related to delimitation, border management, mechanism building and cross-border cooperation.

During the meeting held in Beijing on Wednesday, the Indian side stressed on early meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers. The two sides agreed to maintain regular exchanges and contacts at the diplomatic and military levels through mechanisms, including those that were agreed as part of the outcomes of the 24th Special Representatives (SR) Talks, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

“The discussions were constructive and forward looking. The two sides reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made in maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas, which has enabled progress towards gradual normalisation of bilateral relations,” the MEA said in a statement.

For the meeting, the Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia), and the Chinese delegation was led by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The officials of two nations agreed to work together to make substantive preparation for the next meeting of the Special Representatives (SR), to be held in China.

During the visit, the Indian delegation leader met Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei.

Earlier in April, India and China held Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Bilateral Consultations in New Delhi and discussed the implementation of the SCO Leaders’ decisions and the future course of the organisation.

The two sides agreed to continue and consolidate mutual cooperation and consultations in SCO matters, according to a statement released by the MEA.

India’s SCO National Coordinator, Ambassador Alok A Dimri and China’s National Coordinator, Ambassador Yan Wenbin, led the respective delegations during the meeting held in New Delhi on April 16-17.

“Both delegations, jointly, called on Secretary (West) Shri Sibi George to review cooperation within the SCO framework, including in the areas of security, trade, connectivity, and people-to-people ties. Both sides agreed to continue mutual consultations in future,” the MEA release said.

Kyrgyzstan holds the SCO chairmanship for 2025-2026. Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov announced the theme of the presidency: “25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity.”

IANS