Somali Magazine 5 September 2023- China has “supported” India in hosting this year’s G-20 meeting, calling it a “major forum” for international economic cooperation.
“China has always attached great importance to the G-20, (and) has actively participated in relevant activities and supported India in hosting this year’s summit,” said Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Beijing’s declaration comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the G-20 conference in New Delhi later this week.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang will instead represent China at the high-profile event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be absent from the summit, which will be attended by the majority of Western members of the group of the world’s top 20 countries.
“China is ready to work with all parties to ensure the success of the G-20 Summit,” said Mao, according to the Beijing-based newspaper Global Times.
Mao stated that bilateral ties with India “remain stable on the whole, with dialogue and communication at all levels.”
“We believe that improving and developing China-India relations is in the mutual interests of the two countries and peoples.” “We are ready to collaborate with India to advance China-India relations,” she added.
China and India are at odds over the 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) Himalayan border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, which flared in May 2020, causing hostilities.
Thousands of soldiers were deployed on both sides of the border, killing 24 people.
There have been at least 19 rounds of discussions with diplomats and military personnel to end the situation, but no breakthrough has occurred.