China and India concluded a border meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with a joint pledge to safeguard peace and tranquility along their border, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement released Tuesday.

This was the first meeting on the bilateral working mechanism for consultation and coordination over border affairs, which was launched in January this year.

In a "constructive" and "pragmatic" atmosphere, both sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in the border region, as well as ways to maintain peace and stability and enhance bilateral exchanges there, said the statement.

"The two-day meeting yielded positive progress," according to the statement.

Both sides agreed to further enhance communication, trust and cooperation in accordance with the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, and to give full play to the role of the working mechanism, said the statement.

They agreed to hold the next meeting for the working mechanism in India.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying met with the Indian delegation during the meeting, according to the statement.

China and India share a 2,000-km-long border that has never been formally delineated. The two countries began to discuss border issues in the 1980s.

To maintain peace and stability in their border areas, the two sides signed two agreements in 1993 and 1996, respectively

In 2005, the two countries signed a political guideline on border demarcation during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India.

Premier Wen proposed setting up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination over China-India border affairs during his visit to India in December 2010. The two countries signed an agreement in New Delhi in January this year to formally launch the mechanism.

Under the agreement, the working mechanism will be headed by officials at the director general level from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and by officials at the joint secretary level from the Indian External Affairs Ministry, and will be composed of diplomatic and military officials of the two sides.

The mechanism mainly addresses major issues that may arise in the border areas with an aim to maintain peace and tranquility in the region.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2012)