Ever since the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in 2020, the relations between India and China have been strained. There has been a trust deficit in the bilateral relationship. However, there are welcome signs of thaw emerging now. The outcome of the recent meeting between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who are also the special representatives, in Beijing, is quite encouraging. This was the first meeting of the special representatives after a gap of five years. As per media report, the two countries reached a six-point consensus, including a commitment to take measures to maintain peace and tranquillity at borders and promote healthy and stable development of relations.
The meeting provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers, and border trade. The data sharing on trans-border rivers is very crucial for Arunachal Pradesh, apart from peace and tranquillity along the LAC. Major rivers like the Siang and Lohit have their origin in China. There are growing fears over the report that the Chinese government is planning to construct multiple dams over the Siang in the Tibet autonomous region. Media reports claim that China plans to tap 60,000 mw of power on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is known as Siang in Arunachal. The data sharing of rivers will help India as the Chinese government is not very open about their proposed mega-dam project on the Yarlung Tsangpo. One can hope that these talks between Doval and Yi will help to ease tension and improve the bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants.