A delicate path forward

The 23rd India-China Special Representatives Meeting between India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China's Foreign Affairs Minister and senior Politburo member Wang Yi marks a cautious yet significant step towards stabilizing bilateral relations.

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For two of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, cooperation is not a choice but a necessity. Over the past decade, relations between India and China have oscillated between phases of cooperation and confrontation. The Doklam standoff in 2017, and more critically, the Galwan Valley clashes of 2020, caused an unprecedented rupture in the mutual trust that had underpinned bilateral engagements. With the Line of Actual Control (LAC) becoming a site of heightened tensions, border negotiations have become the cornerstone of India-China diplomacy.