India and China agreed on Saturday to intensify efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution to their border dispute and work on more CBMs to maintain peace and tran quillity along the frontier.

Against the backdrop of fresh irritants such as China’s recent attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council, the Special Representatives on the border issue agreed both sides should “respect each other’s sensitivities and concerns” to build trust, the external affairs ministry said.

The talks between the Special Representatives – National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi –in New Delhi were described by the ministry as “constructive with focus on taking forward the India-China Closer Developmental Partnership as per the guidance provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping” attheir second informal summit in Mamallapuram in October.

“The Special Representatives resolved to intensify their efforts to achieve a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the India-China boundary question in accordance with the directives provided by PM Modi and President Xi Jinping,” the ministry said in a statement.

“There was a consensus that both sides should respect eachother’s sensitivities and concerns in order to build mutual trust, as this wasimportant for the future development of the bilateral relations,” the statement added.

Days ahead of the meeting, China had irked India by againraising the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council on behalf of its closeally Pakistan. France and other permanent members of the council thwartedChina’s bid to have a discussion on the situation in Kashmir during a meetingbehind closed doors on December 17 by pointing out this is a bilateral issuebetween India and Pakistan.

The Special Representatives agreed on the importance ofmaintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas for developing bilateralrelations, and they recognised the importance of existing confidence buildingmeasures (CBMs) to promote exchanges and communication between border personneland to “ensure predictability in border management as well as strategiccommunication”.

They also agreed to work together for more CBMs, thestatement said.

A separate statement issued by the Chinese embassy quotedWang as saying the two sides should “promote early harvest consultations”,strengthen CBMs and cooperation, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillityon the frontier.

“The two sides exchanged views on the early harvest of theboundary negotiations and reached a consensus on strengtheningconfidence-building measures. They agreed to formulate management rules formaintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” the Chinese statementsaid.

“They also agreed to strengthen communication and exchangesbetween the border forces of the two countries and set up hotlines between therelevant departments of the two armed forces, add border meeting points, expandborder trade and personnel exchanges,” it added.

Wang also said the meeting of the Special Representatives isan important platform for strategic communication between the two sides, whichshould strengthen cooperation to jointly defend multi-lateralism, fairness andjustice, and to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. He added thatthe two sides should promote high level exchanges and institutional dialogues,deepen practical cooperation, and manage commemorative activities to mark the70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2020.

The first informal summit between Modi and Xi, at Wuhan in2018, was organised following the 73-day military standoff at Doklam theprevious year. Since then, the two sides have focused on measures to preventsuch eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations and to maintain peace along the Line ofActual Control (LAC).

At the second informal summit, Modi and Xi agreed the twosides would enhance strategic communication on all matters and not allow differencesto become disputes.

The Special Representatives also reviewed the progress madesince the second informal summit, and underlined the importance of approachingthe border issue from the “strategic perspective of India-China relations andagreed that an early settlement of the boundary question serves the fundamentalinterests of both countries”, the external affairs ministry said.

As in the past, the two sides shared the view that stableand balanced development of India-China ties is a positive factor for peace andprosperity in the region and the world.

The Special Representatives exchanged views on importantbilateral, regional and global issues. Wang also called on vice president MVenkaiah Naidu.

According to a Chinese statement, Wang told Naidu:“According to the political parameters and guiding principles for thesettlement of the India-China boundary question, China has put forward apractical framework for solving the boundary question, to which the Indian sidehas attached importance.”

The meeting of the Special Representatives was earlierscheduled for mid-September but was called off at the last minute.

China criticised India’s decision to scrap the specialstatus of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and it alsoobjected to the creation of the union territory of Ladakh, a region it claims,but this was rejected by New Delhi.

India told China the change was an internal matter for Indiaand had no implication for the country’s external boundaries or the LAC withChina.

The two sides do not agree on several stretches of their3,488-km border and have differences on Aksai Chin, a high-altitude region ofabout 37,000 sq km, and another 84,000 sq km in Arunachal Pradesh.