India–China Joint Working Group on the boundary question

The Joint Working Group (JWG) was the first official bilateral administrative mechanism formed after the 1962 Sino-Indian War by India and China to discuss the boundary question with the aim of finding a solution.

It was officially announced in a joint press communique in Beijing on 23 December 1988.

A "hotline" was set up between military commanders, border posts were opened, mechanisms for conveying troop positions were just some of the incremental changes accomplished.

[1] The relevant part of the joint press communique reads:[2] The leaders of the two countries held [...] discussions on the Sino-Indian boundary question [...] They also agreed to develop their relations actively in other fields and work hard to create a favourable climate and conditions for a fair and reasonable settlement of the boundary question while seeking a mutually acceptable solution to this question.

In this context, concrete steps will be taken, such as establishing a joint working group on the boundary question and a joint group on economic relations and trade and science and technology.The JWG would be led by the Indian foreign secretary and the Chinese deputy foreign minister.