On Saturday, a Chinese think tank affiliated with the nation’s top spy agency said that India has been endeavoring to grab advantage of its part as the host of the G20 Summit to facilitate its agenda and harm China’s interests.
The severe criticism by the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations comes as G20 heads started their annual two-day summit, in the Indian capital New Delhi, with Chinese President Xi Jinping not attending.
The think tank blamed India for getting geopolitical “private goods” onto the international stage, which it said would not only help the nation fulfill its duty as the host of G20 but also develop other problems.
New Delhi held two earlier G20 meetings in disputed regions — one in Arunachal Pradesh China also claims, and another in Kashmir, competed by Pakistan.
The think tank said in a commentary published on its WeChat account that in addition to causing diplomatic turmoil and public opinion turmoil, India’s efforts in hosting meetings in disputed regions have also ‘stole the spotlight,’ sabotaging the collaborative atmosphere of the G20 meeting and impeding the accomplishment of substantive outcomes.
The comments may shed some light on the absence of Xi from the summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chinese officials have denied to describe the absence of Xi. Premier Li Qiang is representing China instead.
China and India have been exploring for methods to reduce simmering military tensions along their extended border, but New Delhi has explained the condition as fragile and dangerous.
