China opposes G20 meeting in IIOJK and will skip it

NEW DELHI: China said on Friday that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and will not attend.

India, which holds the chair of G20 this year, has organised a series of meetings across the country in the run-up to the summit in New Delhi in September.

“China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

In 2019, India split the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir to create the two federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. A large chunk of Ladakh is under Chinese control.

Ties between New Delhi and Beijing have been strained since a military clash in Ladakh in 2020 in which 24 soldiers were killed.

Srinagar, the summer capital of IIOJK, will host a meeting of the tourism working group for G20 members on May 22-24.

Pakistan has also opposed India’s decision to hold a G20 meeting in occupied Kashmir.

Earlier, the Pakistai government announced a three-day protest campaign from May 21 against India’s “reprehensible and nefarious designs” of holding G20 conference in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Pakistan was committed to apprise the international community about India’s reprehensible and nefarious designs of holding G20 conference in IIOJK.

He further said the Pakistani leadership would put a strapping response and narrative before the international community regarding conducting G20 conference by India.