China will not attend the G20 summit in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – China said on Friday that it will not go to the G20 tourism summit that would be held the following week in India’s disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In preparation for the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, India, which is serving as the organization’s chair this year, has hosted a number of meetings around the nation.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that China “is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings.”

In 2019, India divided Jammu and Kashmir, a state with a majority of Muslims, to form the two federal regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Ladakh is mostly under Chinese influence.

Since a military confrontation in Ladakh in 2020 that resulted in 24 troops being killed, relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been tense.

On May 22–24, Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir’s summer season, will play home to a meeting of the G20’s working group on tourism.

Kashmir is fully claimed but only partially governed by China’s ally Pakistan and nuclear-armed neighbours India. Pakistan has also voiced opposition to India’s intention to host a G20 conference in Kashmir.

India has responded to the criticism by stating that it is allowed to host gatherings on its own soil. It said on Friday that regular relations with China depend on their being peace and tranquilly on its border.