China, India hold border talks, agree to continue search for boundary settlement

BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - China and India agreed on Tuesday to continue dialogue and seek a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement" ‌of their border issue after talks between senior diplomats in ‌Beijing.

The world's two most populous nations, both nuclear powers, share a roughly 3,800-km (2,400-mile), largely undemarcated ​and disputed border in the Himalayas.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had "comprehensive, in-depth, friendly and candid" discussions on border affairs and bilateral ties, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Wang said China-India ‌relations were no longer ⁠only of bilateral importance but carried global and strategic significance, saying the two neighbours should strengthen communication and reduce ⁠their differences.

The Indian Embassy in China confirmed in a post on X that the two sides had reviewed bilateral ties and had discussed ways to ​further expand ​cooperation and maintain stability and peace ​in border areas.

Ties between Beijing ‌and New Delhi have gradually improved in recent years following a deadly 2020 border clash, which led to a four-year military standoff before a disengagement agreement was reached in October 2024.

Last year Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for the first time in seven years, in a sign ‌of a thaw in relations. More recently, ​a fresh border-related dispute triggered sharp diplomatic ​exchanges between the two rivals.

"Both ​sides should learn from historical experience, place the border ‌issue in an appropriate position in ​bilateral relations, and ​move forward without stagnation, regression, or deviation," Wang was quoted as telling Doval at Tuesday's meeting.

The two countries have agreed to hold ​the next round of ‌border talks in India in 2027, the Chinese statement added.

(Reporting by ​Beijing Newsroom, additional reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing ​by Alex Richardson and Gareth Jones)