By IANS,
Beijing : The 16th round of India-China border talks began in Beijing Friday led by their special representatives – National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon from India and State Councillor Yang Jiechi from China.
This is the first meeting of the special representatives on border talks since the Chinese leadership took over in March and comes in the aftermath of the Chinese troop incursion in Ladakh that raised temperatures between the two neighbours.
While Menon has helmed the border talks earlier, Yang, the former foreign minister, took over as state councillor and top diplomat in March. His predecessor, Dai Bingguo, had served as the special representative since the mechanism was introduced in 2003.
The two-day talks are expected to be followed by the visit of Defence Minister A.K. Antony from July 4- 7.
Menon is to also meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit besides Foreign Minister Wang Yi, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media in Beijing.
Li, who had visited India last month, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said the festering boundary question is to be resolved through negotiations between their special representatives.
The meeting between the officials is expected to focus on the recent Chinese troop intrusion in Depsang in Ladakh.