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National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday and reviewed bilateral ties, including progress in efforts to normalise relations following a military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that lasted more than four years.
Doval met Wang, who functions as the NSA in his role as Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, on the margins of the Brics NSAs’ meeting in New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.
“The two sides reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations and noted progress towards gradual normalisation,” Jaiswal said without going into details. He described the discussions as “constructive and forward-looking”.
Doval “underlined that stable, predictable and constructive bilateral relations contribute to building trust and better understanding between the two sides”, Jaiswal said.
Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong said earlier on social media that the Chinese side will use the meeting of Brics NSAs on June 22-23 to exchange views on the international security situation, major international and regional issues, and a joint response to conventional and non-conventional security challenges.
The NSAs’ meeting is part of the preparations for the Brics Summit, to be hosted by India, the bloc’s current chair, in September.
This is Wang’s first visit to India in almost a year against the backdrop of efforts by the two sides to normalise their relationship. He skipped a Brics foreign ministers’ meeting hosted by India in May as its timing clashed with US President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing. Wang last visited India in August 2025, when he met Doval and external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
After India and China reached an understanding in October 2024 to end a military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that had dragged on for more than four years and had taken relations to a six-decade low, both sides have taken several steps to normalise their ties and address their border dispute.
Doval travelled to China in December 2024 for a Special Representatives’ meeting, and this was followed by Wang’s trip to India last August for another meeting under the same mechanism. These meetings largely focused on the disputed sections of the border and other confidence-building measures.
The two sides have resumed direct flights and revived the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to Tibet, and India has eased visa regulations for Chinese citizens. China too eased certain restrictions on the export of heavy machinery, rare earth magnets and fertilisers.
Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music.
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