China has taken the conflict of interest with India to a broader front, voicing opposition to various issues at the G20 ministerial meetings, going beyond issues like the Ukraine crisis, climate change and green energy.
China’s objections range from Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for the Environment), women-led development initiatives and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to India’s chosen slogan for its G20 presidency, Vasudhaiva kutumbakam (The world is one Family). , according to a newspaper report.
Obstinacy at several ministerial meetings has posed a significant challenge to reaching consensus within the G20, although New Delhi has struggled to bridge differences on key issues, the Times of India reported on September 2.
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Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
New Delhi is awaiting written confirmation from Beijing that President Xi Jinping will attend next weekend’s G20 summit. China’s stance at G20 meetings has been a topic of discussion in diplomatic circles. More importantly, this stance gains relevance against the background of the border dispute between neighboring states that has been going on for the past three years.
“It’s often been a ping-pong game between India and China and G7 members are looking at both sides trying to figure out what’s happening in space,” the daily quoted an ambassador as saying.
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China’s divergent stance on issues such as debt restructuring for vulnerable countries is significant given its massive financial exposure to countries in Africa and Asia. These differing viewpoints can pose major challenges in building consensus on international affairs.
A representative of a global agency who attended some meetings suggested that certain of China’s objections may be driven by a desire to stall progress and prevent India from announcing a “success” at the end of its G20 presidency.
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India had already played a key role in building consensus at last year’s Bali Leaders’ Summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message that “this is not an era of war” had settled the matter, leading to one Declaration led to the end of the summit meeting. The Bali spirit was expected to persist during India’s presidency, but officials noted that China’s stance had created tensions and dampened overall sentiment within the G20.
