
Massive drama unfolded at a 5-star hotel in Delhi when the Chinese delegation, which arrived in the national capital for G20 Summit 2023, refused to get a bag checked by the security staff at the hotel. The Chinese delegation was staying at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area. The Chinese delegates brought a bag into the hotel but refused to get it checked when the security asked them to, police sources told India Today.
A ruckus broke out when the delegates did not cooperate despite the police repeatedly insisting they get their backs checked in keeping with the security protocols. Following this, the delegation chose to return to the Chinese embassy without getting the bag checked. The contents of the bag are unknown at present.
More Chinese delegates arrived later and complied without any objection to getting their bags checked, police sources further said. At the recently concluded G20 Summit in Delhi, China was represented by the delegation by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
President Xi Jinping gave the summit a skip and the Chinese dispensation did not specify any reason for the same. When asked if the decision to send Premier Qiang instead of Jinping is triggered by the tensions between India and China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China-India relations have been “stable on a whole”.
Without mentioning the border dispute ensuing between the two nations since 2020, she also said that the two sides have “maintained dialogue and communication at various levels”. The spokesperson also mentioned that China always attaches high importance to the G20 grouping and actively participates in relevant activities.
The relationship between India and China has been strained since the violent clashes between the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) took place in 2020. Since then, Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a conflict at certain friction points in eastern Ladakh.
The G20 Summit was held from September 9-10 at the Bharat Mandapam convention hall in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. Several world leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese attended the summit.
The G20 grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.
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