New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) In a major thaw in their frosty ties, India and China on Tuesday unveiled a series of measures to forge a "stable, cooperative and forward-looking" relationship that included jointly maintaining peace along the frontier, reopening border trade, promoting investment flows, and resuming of direct flight connectivity at the earliest.

The announcements aimed at realising the full development potential of the two Asian giants came amid growing estrangement in ties between India and the US over President Donald Trump's policies on trade and tariff.

India and China listed the measures in a joint document after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval over the last two days besides meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two sides agreed that they should earnestly implement the important common understandings reached between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and promote sustained, sound and steady development of India-China relations.

Wang landed in Delhi on Monday on a two-day visit and his trip is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

The Doval-Wang talks under the framework of the Special Representatives dialogue on Tuesday produced five concere outcomes that included setting up an expert group, under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) to explore an "early harvest in boundary delimitation".

In the meeting, Doval and wang agreed on the need to take a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the agreement on political parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the boundary question signed in 2005.

They also agreed on setting up a working group, under the WMCC, to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace and tranquillity in India-China border areas.

Both sides also agreed to create a "general level mechanisms" in Eastern, and Middle sectors, in addition to the similar mechanism in Western sector, and holding an early meeting of the the mechanism in the Western sector, accoring to a joint statement.

The two sides also agreed to use the border management mechanisms at diplomatic and military levels to carry forward the process of border management, and discuss de-escalation, beginning with the principles and modalities.

The talks between Jaishankar and Wang on Monday produced a total of 12 outcomes that included a decision to explore and resume various official bilateral dialogue mechanisms and exchanges, to enhance cooperation and address each other's concerns and properly manage differences.

The joint document said both sides agreed to the re-open border trade through the three designated trading points, namely Lipulekh Pass, Shipki La Pass and Nathu La Pass.

India and China also agreed to facilitate trade and investment flows between the two countries through "concrete measures", it said.

Both sides agreed to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas through friendly consultations, it added.

India and China also agreed to resume direct flight connectivity between Chinese mainland and Indian cities at the earliest, and finalise an updated Air Services Agreement.

They also agreed on the facilitation of visas to tourists, businesses, media and other visitors in both directions, the joint document said.

"Both sides agreed to continue and further expand the scale of the Indian pilgrimage to Mount Kailash/ Gang Renpoche and Lake Manasarovar/ Mapam Yun Tso in Tibet Autonomous Region of China starting 2026," it said.

The two sides exchanged views on trans-border rivers cooperation and agreed to give full play to the role of India-China expert level mechanism on trans-border rivers and keep communication on renewal of the relevant MoUs.

The Chinese side agreed to share hydrological information during emergency situations based on humanitarian considerations.

Earlier, in their meeting, Doval and Wang highlighted the upward trend in India-China engagement and discussed the way forward as well as de-escalation of the of the frontier.

There has been an "upward trend" in India-China relations in the past nine months as peace and tranquillity prevailed along the border, Doval said.

In his televised opening remarks, the NSA recalled his visit to Beijing in December last for the previous round of SR talks and said there has been an "upward trend" in the ties between the two sides since then.

"Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquillity, our bilateral engagements have been more substantial," he said.

Doval also formally announced that Modi will visit China to attend the SCO Summit, to be held in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1 and noted that the Special Representatives talks have assumed a "very special importance" in view of the trip.

The NSA also made a mention of the talks between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of a multilateral event in the Russian city of Kazan in October last year, adding that both sides benefited a lot since then.

"The new environment that has been created has helped us in moving ahead in the various areas that we were working on," Doval said.

The Modi-Xi meeting took place two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for the remaining two friction points of Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.

The two leaders had decided to revive several mechanisms, including talks between the Special Representatives, to normalise bilateral ties.

In his remarks, the Chinese foreign minister said the two sides should "increase mutual trust through strategic communication, expand common interest through exchanges and cooperation, and properly settle the specific issues" along the borders.

"We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders." "Now the bilateral relationship is facing an important opportunity of improvement and growth. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister's visit to China to attend the SCO Summit at our invitation," he said.

The Indian side strongly raised the issue of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, recalling that one of the original objectives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was to counter the evil of terrorism, the MEA said.

Minister Wang Yi concurred that countering terrorism should be given the highest priority, it added.

In the SR talks, both sides deliberated on maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.

The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

In the last few months, the two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals. PTI MPB KVK KVK