‘Structural differences have not disappeared’: Chinese strategic affairs scholar on India-China ties

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Ahead of talks in Beijing on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Hu Shisheng, a leading Chinese strategic affairs scholar on South Asia, said the focus of both countries would be on “institutionalising stability” even as “structural differences” in the relationship remained.

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India and China will on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) hold the 25th round of talks between the Special Representatives (SRs) on the boundary question. Mr. Doval and Mr. Wang, who is also a member of the Politburo, will also take stock of relations ahead of next month’s expected visit to India by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the BRICS Summit, his first visit in seven years.

“On the border, I would expect the immediate focus to be less on a dramatic settlement and more on institutionalising stability. The priority is to prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC, strengthen military and diplomatic communication, and turn last year’s idea of an ‘early harvest’ into an operational process,” Mr. Hu, who is Director of the South Asia Institute at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) in Beijing, told The Hindu.

He was referring to an agreement at last year’s 24th round on establishing an Expert Group under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs to explore “early harvest on boundary delimitation”.

“The two WMCC meetings this year have discussed delimitation, so there has been procedural progress, but there is still no public indication of a concrete sectoral delimitation agreement,” Mr. Hu said. “The realistic next step would be to operationalise the Expert Group, agree on its mandate, timetable and criteria for identifying relatively less contentious sectors, rather than expect an immediate breakthrough on the boundary itself.”

The broader challenge facing the two SRs, he said, was whether both sides “can work out a sustainable modus vivendi that avoids confrontation, keeps differences manageable, and preserves space for cooperation”.

Mr. Hu said the timing of Mr. Doval’s visit, before the September 12 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, added significance to the visit with Mr. Xi expected to visit India.

“Both sides have a strong incentive to keep the border stable and create a favourable political atmosphere for possible leader-level interaction,” he said, adding that he viewed maintaining stability on the border, achieving “concrete and operational progress” on “early harvest” outcomes, and creating favourable conditions for the BRICS Summit as immediate priorities for the border talks.

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At the strategic level, he added, Mr.