India, China end border talks with little progress

"The talks have concluded, I really have nothing to share with you on the progress made," said Sanjay Verma, spokesman for the Indian Embassy in China.

"Both sides were aiming at setting up a framework in which to resolve the border issue."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang also did not give specific details about the two days of talks.

"With the development and improvement of China-India relations, the atmosphere for resolving the border issue has improved," he told a regular briefing. "The two sides have the sincerity to seek a solution to this issue."

He said the two sides had agreed to hold the next round of talks in New Delhi, at a date to be set via diplomatic channels.

Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan was India's top negotiator and his Chinese opposite number was Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo.

Narayanan was set to leave Beijing on Wednesday morning, Verma said.

"China sincerely hopes the boundary question can be settled in a fair and reasonable way at an early date," top Communist Party official Jia Qinling was quoted as telling Narayanan by Xinhua news agency.

"The special representatives from the two countries should proceed from the overall interests of China-India ties and continue to make progress in reaching a framework for the settlement of the boundary question."

Narayanan also met with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Xinhua said.

The agreement to hold the talks came during a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York earlier this month.