Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said he is ready to join hands with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to "properly handle" issues related to the situation in border areas. As he congratulated Doval on his reappointment as India's National Security Advisor and Special Representative for the India-China boundary question, Wang noted that the two nations share a relationship that transcends bilateral boundaries and holds increasing global significance.
In his message to Doval sent this week, Wang, who is also the Special Representative of the India-China border talks mechanism, said the two most populous developing countries and emerging economies in the world share a relationship that transcends bilateral boundaries and holds increasing global significance.
Wang emphasized that he is "ready to join hands with Doval to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, properly handle issues related to the situation on the ground in the border areas, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas," state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang's message followed his recent meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Asthana, Kazakhstan. It was the first high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials after the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 3.0 government following the recent general elections in India.
Ties between the two countries hit a new low ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area near Galwan. Since the 2020 clashes, the two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.
