New Delhi

National security adviser Ajit Doval has reached Beijing for a meeting of the Special Representatives on the boundary issue, which is part of efforts by the two sides to normalise the relationship, people privy to the developments said on Sunday.

Doval is expected to meet his counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Tuesday for a meeting to resolve the boundary dispute.

This will be the 25th round of Special Representatives on the border issue, established in 2003 to work out a framework for resolving the dispute over the 3,488-km border.

Doval’s visit assumes greater significance as it comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India in September to participate in the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Although neither side has made an official announcement in this regard, Xi is expected to attend the summit to be held on September 12-13, the people said.

This will be Xi’s first visit to India in seven years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi last met in August 2025 on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in China.

The talks between the Special Representatives are being held against the backdrop of a recent standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Arunachal Pradesh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated at a media conclave on Saturday that the state of the border will determine the course of the overall India-China relationship.

Echoing similar sentiments, foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev pointed out the critical timing of the visit ahead of the upcoming 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held earlier this year under India's presidency. He noted the potential of the NSA's reported visit to shape upcoming high-level multilateral engagements, including a potential visit to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"The visit of NSA Doval to Beijing is coming at a very important time," Sachdev remarked. "We soon also have the upcoming BRICS summit happening in Delhi, in which Xi Jinping could probably be visiting also, and a bilateral with Prime Minister Narendra Modi...it is time for both China and India to look and address the boundary issue honestly."

Sachdev further emphasised the importance of maintaining open channels of communication to foster long-term cooperation between the two nations.

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"Both countries are saying the same thing. The issue is to keep the thought going...the two nations have quite a strong degree of cooperation ahead," he said.