As in Arunachal, China to skip G20 meet in J&K too

NEW DELHI: China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on "disputed territory" and will not attend such meetings, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday ahead of the G20 meeting in Srinagar next week.
China has maintained, since reports emerged last year about India's plan to host a meeting in J&K, that "unilateral actions" can further complicate the situation. China had also earlier skipped the G20 meeting India hosted in Arunachal Pradesh.
Earlier in the day, the tourism ministry said Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and China have not registered to attend the G20 Tourism Group meeting in Srinagar from May 22-24, the ministry said on Friday.
Both Turkiye and Saudi Arabia are members of OIC which has repeatedly attacked India for alleged human rights violations in J&K since the government revoked the special status of the erstwhile state. India too has been equally scathing in its responses, emphasising that OIC has allowed Pakistan to hijack its agenda. Pakistan had strongly lobbied both Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to rebuff what it saw as an attempt by India to gain legitimacy for its actions.
Registrations for the event will remain open till May 22, when the meeting is scheduled to begin. However, the absence of the three G20 member countries is being seen as a strategic move by the three countries in the context of India's decision to host a G20 meeting - the first big ticket international event since the nullification of Article 370 in August 2019 - in Jammu & Kashmir.
"We have received 60 international registrations so far. Among G20 member nations, Turkiye, China and Saudi Arabia have not registered. From among the nine special invitees, Egypt has also not registered yet. Since registrations remain open till the start of the meeting on May 22, country representatives may register until then," Arvind Singh, Union tourism secretary, said.