New Delhi, 30 June: China on Thursday expressed its opposition to India’s plans to hold the G-20 summit in Jammu and Kashmir, echoing its close ally Pakistan’s objection.
China also stressed that the relevant parties should refrain from “politicising” the issue. Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded to a query from the official media by saying, “China’s stance on Kashmir is unwavering and unambiguous. It is a historical disagreementment between Pakistan and India.
According to the pertinent UN resolutions and bilateral agreements, it should be properly resolved,β said Zhao.
He stated, “Relevant parties should refrain from acting unilaterally in a way that exacerbates the situation. In order to resolve the conflicts and jointly uphold peace and stability, we must engage in dialogue and consultation.”
Zhao emphasized the importance of the G-20 as a premier forum for international economic cooperation, saying, “We call on relevant parties to focus on economic recovery and avoid politicizing the relevant issue in order to make a positive contribution to improving the global economic governance “
China is a G-20 member, so when asked if it would attend the meeting, he responded, “We will look into that.”
Zhao responded to a different query by saying, “The two matters are completely different in nature. China is building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the disputed area in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), and India has raised concerns over it.?
China has started initiatives to support Pakistan’s efforts to develop its economy and improve living conditions. “Some of those projects are in Pakistan-controlled portions of Kashmir. The projects are managed by relevant Chinese companies with the intention of assisting the locals in strengthening their economies and improving their standard of living,β the official said.
Pakistan stated on June 25, it rejected India’s attempt to host a G20 summit in Kashmir, hoping that participants would be fully aware of the need for law and justice and would vehemently disagree with the idea.
The G-20, a significant organization that brings together the world’s major economies, will meet in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023. The union territory administration last Thursday established a five-member high-level committee for overall coordination.
This is the first significant summit that is anticipated to take place in Jammu and Kashmir since the state was split into two union territories in August 2019, and lost the special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, a for the Pakistan Foreign Office, said in a statement that Islamabad had noted news reports appearing in the Indian media suggesting that may be considering holding some G20-related meeting in Jammu and Kashmir.
The fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized entity, he claimed, is well known. He hoped that the G20 members would be fully aware of the requirements of law and justice and would reject any such contentious proposal from India outright.
