With ties between the two countries improving considerably in past few weeks, China is sending a high-level military delegation to India soon to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in border management, including the possibility of establishing a hotline.

Lt. Gen. Liu Xiaowu, Deputy Commander of the PLA Western Command, will lead the delegation. It is expected to meet military leaders on the Indian side and exchange views on a plethora of defence and strategic issues. The delegation would also be visiting Pakistan.

Informed sources here said Chinese Defence Minister and Minister for Public Security would also visit India later this year. Special Representatives (SRs) of the two countries were also scheduled to hold their next round of meeting in Beijing this year.

As part of the increasing interaction, the two foreign ministers would soon co-chair the first meeting of high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange mechanism this year.

Sources said the two countries need to strengthen exchanges between senior officials of the government, military and legislature. The two nations could also think of signing a treaty of good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation. Beijing has already provided to New Delhi the draft of the proposed treaty.

Sources said cooperation between India and China was not new. It could be traced to the introduction of Buddhism in China and the travel of the famous monk Xuanzang to India.

The boundary question between the two countries was left over by history. The two countries must build on convergences and find a mutually acceptable solution to the boundary issues while taking more confidence-building measures (CBMs) to maintain the peace and tranquillity along the border to prevent a situation like last summer’s Doklam military stand-off.

Sources also drew attention to Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui’s recent statement that the two countries could not stand another Doklam-like incident.

In a changing world, India and China must learn how to coexist with each other. This was the primary reason for the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan in April-end. Sources said the two leaders were expected to meet again for their informal summit next year probably in India.