National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met his Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi in Munich ahead of the 18th round of Special Representative Boundary talks between India and China.

The two met on the sidelines of an international security conference and discussed steps to deepen the bilateral cooperation. The meeting was significant because it takes place ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to China in May.

China has suggested to resolve the border issue and remove "disturbances" in bilateral ties. It asked India to sign a new Code of Conduct on border management.

Sources said that while the two countries are keen on signing it and resolving the border issue, India does not want a repeat of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2013.

The Chinese official proposed to respect and look after each other's concerns, to push forward negotiations over boundaries and to effectively maintain the peace and safety of border areas, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The 18th round of border talks at the end of this month is expected to be a step forward in resolving the boundary further.



Their meeting at Munich followed recent visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during which she held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to make preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to China before May 26.

"India is willing to enhance cooperation with China in various areas, to jointly boost economic sustainable growth, as well as to maintain peace and stability of the region," Doval was quoted by Xinhua.

India is expected to intensify coordination with China and keep pushing forward the process of negotiations over boundary issue, the Xinhua reported.

