China and India agreed in Beijing Tuesday to continue talks on border issues after wrapping up their second ministerial-level discussions, and decided to hold the third round of talks in New Delhi.??

 

Sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the second round of talks held on Monday and Tuesday in Beijing as "friendly and constructive."

 

Dai Bingguo, vice foreign minister of China, and Brajesh Mishra, Indian national security adviser and principal secretary to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, headed the talks as special representatives on each side.

 

"The two sides agreed to hold the next round of talks at a mutually acceptable date in New Delhi," said an official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

 

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Mishra here on Tuesday and extended his sincere greetings to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also met with Mishra.

 

The Sino-Indian border issue is a complicated historical problem. The two countries held the first round of ministerial-level talks on Oct. 23 and 24, 2003.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2004)