China supports India in hosting G-20, says Beijing

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Calling G-20 a “major forum” for international economic cooperation, China said Tuesday it has “supported” India in hosting this year's summit.

“China has always attached great importance to G-20, (and) has actively participated in relevant activities and has supported India in hosting this year's summit,” said Mao Ning, spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry.

Beijing’s statement comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending the two-day summit of G-20 leaders in New Delhi later this week.

Instead, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the high-profile event.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not attend the summit, which will see participation by most Western members of the bloc of the world’s top 20 economies.

“China is ready to work with all parties to push for the success of the G-20 Summit,” Beijing-based daily Global Times quoted Mao.

On bilateral relations with India, Mao said they “remain stable on the whole, with dialogue and communication at all levels.”

“We believe that the improvement and development of China-India relations is in the common interest of the two countries and the two peoples. We are ready to work with India to promote greater development of China-India relations,” she added.

China and India are locked in a feud over the 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) Himalayan border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh area of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, which erupted in May 2020, sparking clashes.

Thousands of troops were deployed to both sides of the boundary, resulting in 24 deaths.

At least 19 rounds of talks involving diplomats and military officials have been held to resolve the standoff, but there has been no breakthrough.