His arrival coincided with the fifth round of boundary talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and Special representative on the border issue Dai Bingguo, and his new Indian counterpart, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

The meeting was the first between Dai and Narayanan, who was appointed special representative for the boundary talks in March after the death of J N Dixit.

Apart from the special representatives, the two sides have the Joint Working Group and an Expert Group to discuss details of the border issue.

Photograph: Sondeep Shankar/Saab Press

Also read: India, China to sign agreement on boundary issue