India sees the complete disengagement of Chinese and Indian troops facing off on a remote stretch of their border as key to better relations, two sources in New Delhi said after China's foreign minister held talks there on Friday.
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Wang Yi, who flew into New Delhi late on Thursday, is the most senior Chinese official to visit India since border clashes in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh in June 2020 led to a sharp deterioration in relations between the Asian giants.
India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval pressed Wang on Friday for an early and complete disengagement of troops in Ladakh, an Indian source with knowledge of the discussions said.
"The continuation of the present situation is not in our mutual interest," the source quoted Doval telling Wang.
"Restoration of peace and tranquillity will help build mutual trust and create enabling environment for progress in relations," Doval added.
Chinese officials in New Delhi were not immediately available for comment.
Wang also held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Jaishankar noted in a speech on Thursday the deterioration in ties after the 2020 clash over the disputed border and stressed the importance of the coordination of foreign and defence policies, which he said were "joined at the hip".
"Few would have anticipated ... the turn that India's relations with China have taken in the last two years," he said.
"Any prudent policy therefore backs its posture with capabilities and deterrence. A big responsibility of Indian diplomacy, therefore, is to create the widest set of options for such contingencies."
Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops are deployed on their high-altitude border. Senior military officers have held more than a dozen rounds of talks to defuse the standoff but progress has been limited.
Neither China nor India announced Wang's visit before he landed in New Delhi late on Thursday.
He visited Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier in the week and is set to fly to Nepal later on Friday a whirlwind tour of South Asia where China is trying to deepen its influence.
Wang drew a rebuke from the Indian government before his arrival over remarks in Pakistan on the disputed Kashmir region. India and Pakistan rule Muslim-majority Kashmir in part but claim in full, and China has generally backed close ally Pakistan.
India and China were also expected to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Both consider Russia a friend and both have rejected Western calls for condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls it action a "special military operation".
Australian Associated Press
