G20 meet: China calls Jammu and Kashmir ’disputed territory’, boycotts meeting

China has decided to boycott the planned G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Jammu & Kashmir which is scheduled to take place from 22-24 May in Srinagar. China, which is among the closest ally of Pakistan has asserted that it is “firmly opposed” to holding such meetings in the "disputed territory".

A formal statement issued by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated, "China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory".

“We will not attend such meetings,” he added.

Both Pakistan and China have previously made unwarranted references to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. India has constantly rejected the statements from Beijing and Islamabad on Jammu & Kashmir.

"We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same," the Ministry of External Affairs has commented before on comments by Pakistan and China.

India and China are also locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years.

High security for India's G20 meeting in Kashmir:

Indian Army's troops have been patrolling the streets of J&K's summer capital Srinagar ahead of a G20 tourism meeting.

Security has been beefed up "at vulnerable locations to avoid any chance of terrorist attack during the G20" meeting.

It is the first diplomatic meeting in the union territory since Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government revoked its limited autonomy and took direct control in 2019.

The three-day gathering starts Monday at a sprawling, well-guarded venue on the shores of Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Roads leading to the location have been freshly black-topped, and electricity poles lit up in the colours of India's national flag to show what officials say is "normalcy and peace returning" to the region.

India has been promoting tourism in Kashmir and more than a million of its citizens visited last year.

India holds the Group of 20 presidency for 2023 and has planned more than 100 meetings across the country.