India-China ties gradually normalising since Modi-Xi Kazan meeting: Jaishankar
The Ministry of External Affairs has stated that India-China relations are gradually normalising following the October 2024 meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chinese President on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.
The Kazan meeting followed a border patrolling and disengagement agreement covering the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, ending an over four-year military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Steps cited as part of the normalisation process include the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, an updated visa regime, the restart of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, and the reopening of border trade.
Official statements have noted that the trajectory was reaffirmed during a subsequent meeting between the two leaders in Tianjin, and that peace and tranquillity along the border remain a precondition for further normalisation.
The Ministry has also flagged trade-related concerns, calling for fairer market access and a more balanced trade relationship as part of the broader normalisation process.
Special Representatives (SR) Mechanism on the Boundary Question
The Special Representatives mechanism was established in June 2003, during a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to China, to negotiate a political framework for settling the India-China boundary question at a high diplomatic level, separate from technical-level talks. In 2005, the two sides signed the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the Boundary Question, envisaging a three-stage process: guiding principles, a framework, and finally delineation and demarcation on the ground.
Key Details
- The National Security Adviser and China's Foreign Minister/senior official serve as the Special Representatives.
- Over 20 rounds of SR-level talks have been held since the mechanism's inception.
- The Kazan meeting revived the SR mechanism after a prolonged gap caused by the 2020 border standoff.
The normalisation described in current statements is explicitly linked to the resumption of SR-level engagement agreed at Kazan, making this mechanism the primary political channel through which the boundary question is being pursued.
Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC)
The WMCC was set up by an India-China agreement in January 2012 to provide an institutionalised channel, involving officials from both countries' foreign and defence establishments, for exchanging information and coordinating on border-related developments, distinct from the higher-level SR talks.
Key Details
- The WMCC meets periodically and was especially active in managing tensions after the 2020 LAC face-off began.
- It complements the SR mechanism by handling routine border management and confidence-building measures rather than the political framework of a final settlement.
Continued WMCC meetings alongside the SR mechanism form part of the institutional architecture cited by the government as evidence of gradual normalisation.
LAC, LoC and International Boundary: Border Terminology
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the de facto, undemarcated line separating Indian- and Chinese-held territory, based broadly on troop positions after the 1962 war; India describes it as roughly 3,488 km long, while China's estimate differs. This is distinct from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, a militarily demarcated line from the 1972 Simla Agreement, and the International Boundary (IB), the legally recognised border with Pakistan in areas like Punjab and Gujarat.
Key Details
- Unlike the LoC, the LAC is not delineated on any mutually agreed map, contributing to periodic patrolling disputes.
- The October 2024 disengagement agreement addressed the Depsang and Demchok friction points in eastern Ladakh, the last remaining standoff areas from the 2020 crisis.
The disengagement and patrolling arrangement that preceded the Kazan meeting was specifically about managing the undemarcated LAC, underscoring why border peace is repeatedly described as the precondition for wider normalisation.
- The Modi-Xi meeting took place on the margins of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on 23 October 2024.
- The Special Representatives mechanism was established in June 2003; the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles was signed in 2005.
- The WMCC was established in January 2012.
- India's LAC with China is approximately 3,488 km by India's reckoning.
- The October 2024 disengagement agreement resolved standoffs at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh, the final unresolved friction points from the 2020 stand-off.