China, India Should Jointly Safeguard Peace in Border Areas: Chinese Military
By R Anil Kumar
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The Chinese military has called for India and China to jointly safeguard peace and stability in their contested border regions following the conclusion of the 24th round of boundary talks
Beijing. China and India should jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in their border areas after the recent positive and constructive round of border talks between them during which a 10-point consensus was reached, the Chinese military said on Thursday, 28 August.
These talks, held on August 19, 2025, in New Delhi between India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, resulted in a significant 10-point consensus reflecting a shared commitment to reducing tensions and managing disputes through peaceful mechanisms.
For the first time after the meeting, China’s Defence Spokesperson Colonel Zhang Xiaogang provided an official statement, stressing that both countries should uphold tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by making full use of established diplomatic and military communication channels.
The dialogue, described as both candid and constructive, allowed both sides to conduct an in-depth exchange of views on the long-pending boundary question. Notably, five concrete outcomes emerged from the Doval-Wang discussions.
Among these, the most important was the decision to set up an expert group under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) that would explore an “early harvest in boundary delimitation.”
This step suggests both sides are carefully seeking incremental progress on the complex demarcation process while preventing future escalations.
Other consensuses reportedly emphasized the importance of strengthening confidence-building measures, enhancing crisis communication to prevent incidents on the ground, and intensifying people-to-people exchanges to mitigate mistrust.
The positive tone of the talks is being highlighted by Beijing at a time of symbolic importance, as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two neighbours.
According to Zhang, the anniversary provides an opportunity to consolidate the current momentum in bilateral ties, projecting an image of cooperation and maturity between Asia’s two major powers.
He emphasized that China and India must explore a “right way” of coexistence based on principles of mutual respect, trust, peaceful coexistence, common development, and win-win cooperation.
This framing reflects Beijing’s narrative that the border dispute, while sensitive, should not overshadow the larger relationship, which covers trade, regional stability, and global strategic influence.
Strategically, the statements from the Chinese military are aimed at underscoring a willingness to stabilize the frontier situation, particularly after years of heightened tensions following the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and subsequent military stand-offs in eastern Ladakh. While disengagement has occurred in some friction points, both countries continue to deploy significant forces along the LAC.
Against this backdrop, the reaffirmation of dialogue mechanisms, coupled with institutional structures like the WMCC, indicates an attempt to shift focus from confrontation to calibrated cooperation, at least at the diplomatic and strategic levels.
Nevertheless, analysts caution that the test of these consensuses will lie in their implementation, especially in preventing accidental skirmishes and building genuine trust on the ground.
For New Delhi, the outcome of the talks reflects a pragmatic approach—simultaneously safeguarding sovereignty while keeping communication open. For Beijing, the signalling serves both domestic and international purposes: projecting strength but also showing readiness to manage disputes responsibly.
As both countries continue to navigate competition and cooperation across economic and geopolitical domains, the agreement reached in the 24th round offers a tentative roadmap to stabilize one of the world’s most sensitive borders.
The emphasis on consolidating cooperation during the anniversary year also reinforces the idea that India-China relations may be entering a cautious but diplomatically constructive phase, though the trajectory remains conditional on sustained progress in boundary management and restoration of mutual trust.
