New Delhi: National security adviser Ajit Doval met with Chinese foreign minister and senior communist party leader Wang Yi in Beijing on June 23, with both sides calling for the “overall development” of bilateral ties.Doval, in China to attend the 20th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Security Council Secretaries, held bilateral talks with Wang, who also heads the Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission.China is set to host the SCO leaders’ summit in September, though the dates are yet to be formally announced. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend what will mark his first visit to China since the start of the border stand-off in 2020.According to readouts issued by both capitals, the discussions reviewed recent developments in India-China relations. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides reaffirmed the need to “foster greater people-to-people ties” and “underscored the need to promote the overall development of the India-China bilateral relations”.‘Counterterrorism’This was also the first in-person meeting between Doval and Wang since their phone call in May, which took place on the day India and Pakistan agreed to halt four days of intense military clashes. Following the ceasefire, the Indian army reported recovering Chinese-origin weaponry from Pakistani positions, including fragments of a PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile that landed inside Indian territory.India’s readout of the meeting had a pointed reference to counterterrorism. Doval “emphasised the need to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to maintain overall peace and stability in the region,” according to the Ministry of External Affairs.New Delhi had described its strike on Pakistan during the clashes as a counter-terrorism operation targeting sites housing terror infrastructure. The Indian action came in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.Kailash Mansarovar Monday’s meeting comes just 10 days after top diplomats from both countries met in New Delhi. At that June 13 meeting between Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri and visiting Chinese vice-foreign minister Sun Weidong, the two sides had identified the resumption of direct air connectivity as the next step towards normalising ties, alongside visa facilitation, media exchanges, and economic dialogue, following the restart of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.Wang said that the two sides had made “positive progress” in recent months and should build on that momentum by deepening communication and mutual trust. He reiterated China’s longstanding view that “dragons and elephants dancing together” could yield “win-win results” for Asia and the world.He called on both sides to “show the historical wisdom of the two ancient civilisations” by properly managing sensitive issues, enhancing people-to-people exchanges, and maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas.Doval, as per the Chinese press release, reportedly stated that both India and China “should view bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, understand and tolerate each other, and expand common interests.”