The 16th Special Representatives’ Meeting for the China-India Boundary Question will be held in Beijing from June 28-29. Indian National Security Advisor and Special Representative for Sino-India border talks, Shivshankar Menon, will hold discussions with his new Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying , “the two sides will follow the requirements of their leaders by maintaining the momentum of border negotiations and jointly upholding peace and tranquility in the border areas. The two sides will also discuss bilateral relations and major international and regional issues with a view to advancing China-India relations in an all-round and in-depth manner.”
Yang Jiechi is a former Foreign Minister and now holds the post of State Councillor in China. This is the first meeting of the two Special Representatives following the Chinese army’s incursion in Depsang Valley, Ladakh, India, in April this year.
The visit will be followed by Indian Defence Minister A. K Antony’s visit to China in July, during which both sides are expected to discuss the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) between India and China.
In 2012, the Indian National Security Advisor had met with the Chinese State Councillor, Dai Bingguo for the 15th Round of the Special Representative talks in New Delhi. At the conclusion of this round, the two countries had decided to set-up the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs. In December 2012, Shivshankar Menon had visited Beijing to hold an informal round of border talks.