China To Boycott G20 Event in Kashmir

By Staff, Agencies

China announced that it will skip the upcoming G20 event in the Indian-controlled part of disputed Kashmir.

“China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory. We will not attend such meetings,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin Wang said while answering a reporter’s question at his regular press conference.

The G20 Tourism Working Group session will be held on May 22-24 in Srinagar as part of a series of events tying into the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi in September.

According to Indian media, around 60 delegates are expected to attend the Srinagar meeting.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have also decided to skip the Kashmir event, NDTV reported.

Beijing and New Delhi have a territorial dispute in the Himalayas, where soldiers from both sides have engaged in several bloody skirmishes along the de facto border since 2020. In February, Indian and Chinese officials met in person for the first time in more than three years in an effort to defuse the tensions.

During his trip for the G7 summit in Japan on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that relations with Beijing must be based on mutual respect. “Peace and tranquility in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China,” Modi told Nikkei Asia. At the same time, he stressed that India was ready to defend “its sovereignty and dignity.”