Senior Indian and Chinese envoys will this week hold talks aimed at resolving a bitter border dispute, the first such discussions since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

China's special representative Yang Jiechi will visit New Delhi from Sunday until Tuesday for talks with national security adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The meetings starting Monday -- the 18th round of boundary talks -- are part of a push to make progress on the long-festering row between the regional rivals before Modi's expected visit to China in May.

China defeated India in a brief but bloody war in 1962 but their border remains unresolved, with each side regularly accusing the other of sending soldiers to encroach on territory.

Tensions peaked last September when hundreds of Chinese troops allegedly moved into the Himalayan territory claimed by India before a visit to Delhi by China's President Xi Jinping.

The tense troop standoff in the remote frontier region overshadowed Xi's visit, which had been intended to reset diplomatic ties after Modi swept to power in May general elections.

Doval said last October that India was willing to fix the border problem with China but would not compromise on its own national security and territory.