India dismissed the Chinese Embassy spokesperson's comments on the joint release of a commemorative stamp on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and called it "factually incorrect".
In response to a WION question about the same, Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava pointed out, "There had been no discussion on any launch date with any Chinese authorities for this activity."
Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong had earlier stated that the Indian side "had not given feedback" on the "launch time agreed by both sides".
"China state post-Bureau made the notice according to customary practices," he had said.
The year 2020 marks the 70th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China. To commemorate the anniversary, India and China had agreed upon organising 35 events each during the Chennai Connect Summit in 2019.
One of the events discussed was a joint release of commemorative stamps for the anniversary year.
In fact, the MEA spokesperson pointed out that the "launch of the 70th-anniversary celebrations itself has not taken place yet," and therefore, the "issue of going ahead with joint activities under its ambit does not arise."
2020 saw an aggressive China, which not only undertook a massive build-up at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh region.
The actions of the People's liberation army earlier this year in June led to a violent confrontation between the two countries in the Galwan valley, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives. It was the first direct clash between the two nuclear powers in 45 years.
The two countries have previously fought a war in 1962 and the border tensions have persisted over the years. In 2020, the tensions at the LAC remained a major news item throughout the year.