China, India to hold border talks in Beijing

BEIJING - China and India will hold a two-day meeting in Beijing to discuss border affairs, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

The fourth Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination over China-India Border Affairs is scheduled from September 29 to 30, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing.

The two sides will exchange views on the border region situation, communication and cooperation between border control departments of the two countries, and specific measures on safeguarding peace and stability of the border region, Hong said.

"The border region has been, on the whole, peaceful and stable at present," he said, adding that the border troops of the two countries have been meeting regularly and the two sides have maintained close communication and coordination on border issues.

The current working mechanism has played an active role in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between border-related departments of the two countries, timely handling border affairs and stabilizing the situation on the border, Hong said.

The spokesman said China is ready to work with India through the work mechanism to maintain peace and stability in the border region, which will create a good atmosphere for the eventual solution of the border issue and for the smooth development of bilateral relations.

China and India share a 2,000-km-long border that has never been formally delineated. The two countries began discussing border issues in the 1980s.

The two sides signed an agreement in New Delhi in January 2012 to formally launch the working mechanism. Under the agreement, the mechanism will be headed by officials at the director general level from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and by officials at the joint secretary level from the Indian External Affairs Ministry, and will be composed of diplomatic and military officials from the two sides.