China and India have agreed to make common efforts to solve their border problem as both countries strive to work out a framework agreement at the 17th meeting of special representatives for border issues.

At the meeting, held Monday and Tuesday, Chinese Special Representative and State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Indian Special Representative and National Security Advisor Shivsharkar Menon had an in-depth exchange of views on the China-India border problem, bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest.

The two sides agreed that before the border issue is solved, the two sides are willing to allow the existing mechanisms to play their full role and implement the relevant agreement for maintaining peace and tranquility.

India and China held a "very constructive" two-day meeting, The Hindu reported, adding that the meeting discussed additional confidence-building measures such as early implementation of the Border Defense Cooperation Agreement as well as the core issue of a framework agreement.

China and India have completed the first step of solving the border dispute, which is to agree on the guiding principles, and are building framework agreements before moving on to decide the actual border line.

"The second step, which is building the framework, is the most difficult part," said Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"Many factors, such as population, ethnicity, geology, and local tradition, have to be taken into consideration. Both sides still have a lot of differences and it takes time for China and India to reach an agreement," said Fu.