India, China Discuss Border Cooperation & Yatra Revival in Beijing Talks

Beijing, China: India and China held the 33rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing on Tuesday. Discussions focused on implementing decisions from the last Special Representatives (SR) meeting in December, reviewing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation, and resuming cross-border cooperation, including the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.

The Indian delegation was led by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia), while Hong Liang, Director General of Boundary & Oceanic Affairs, represented China. The Indian side also met Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei.

Both nations emphasized the need to maintain peace and strengthen diplomatic and military mechanisms for effective border management. The meeting followed last year's engagement between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who agreed on the importance of a fair and mutually acceptable boundary settlement.

India's MEA confirmed that the yatra, paused since 2020, is set to resume in 2025, with discussions on finalizing logistics underway.

PM Narendra Modi, in a recent podcast with Lex Fridman, highlighted the importance of India-China cooperation for global stability. He expressed optimism about returning border conditions to pre-2020 normalcy, fostering trust, enthusiasm, and energy in bilateral relations.

The next WMCC meeting is scheduled to take place in India later this year.