China rules out Xi-Modi meeting at G20
July 06, 2017
China on Thursday said the “atmosphere” is “not right” for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, amidst a standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies near Sikkim.
The “atmosphere is not right” for a meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi, Chinese foreign ministry officials said ahead of the G20 Summit which begins on Friday.
India’s ministry of external affairs said a meeting of BRICS leaders will take place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, which is expected to have among others, Modi and Xi.
China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for the past three weeks after a Chinese army construction party attempted to build a road there.
Doka La is the Indian name for the region, which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam. China claims it as part of its Donglang region.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang expressed hope that “India can immediately withdraw the border troops to the Indian side of the boundary to uphold the peace and tranquillity of the China and India border areas.”
“I think this is the pre-condition for any meaningful peace talks between the two sides,” Geng told a media briefing here when asked about a Modi-Xi meeting.
China’s State-run media on Wednesday quoted Chinese analysts as saying that Beijing would be forced to use a ‘military way’ to end the standoff between the two armies.(Agencies)
