China think tank criticises India for presiding over ‘sabotaged’ G20

A Chinese think tank affiliated with the country’s top spy agency published a strongly worded criticism of India hours before Group of 20 leaders met in New Delhi, accusing the summit host of pushing its own agenda and causing disagreement.

The commentary lamented that India held prior G20 sessions in Arunachal Pradesh, which China has claimed as part of its "standard map". The move has “sabotaged the atmosphere for cooperation at the G20,” the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations said on its official WeChat account on Saturday.

The post reveals a possible explanation for President Xi Jinping’s decision to stay away from the summit hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Foreign Ministry declined to explain the absence. Premier Li Qiang is representing China instead. 

Li told the morning session of the summit that the G20 “needs unity instead of division, cooperation instead of confrontation, and inclusion instead of exclusion,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

In its article, the research group also accused India of intentionally leaving China and Brazil out in hosting an online event for the Global South in order to build its own influence among the developing countries. New Delhi was also criticized for using the G20 as a platform to spread the narrative that Beijing is setting up “debt traps” with its loans to developing countries.

India’s push for its own agenda could “further create divergence and splits, blocking the international community from reaching consensus and substantial achievement, which will eventually damage its own image and cause damage to global development,” the think tank said.