Sikkim standoff: 'Atmosphere not right' for Xi Jinping-Modi meet in G-20 Summit, says China

Amidst the ongoing border row between the Indian and Chinese armies in the Sikkim sector, China on Thursday said the "atmosphere" was "not right" for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

"The atmosphere is not right for a bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi," a Chinese foreign ministry official said ahead of the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg from Friday.

China and India have been engaged in a stand-off in the Dokalam area near the Bhutan tri-junction region for the past 19 days after a Chinese army's construction party attempted to build a road. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

There were reports that Modi and Xi may meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit to resolve the standoff. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang expressed hope that "India can immediately withdraw the border troops to the Indian side of the boundary to uphold the peace tranquillity of the China and India border areas".

"I think this is the pre-condition for any meaningful peace talks between the two sides," he told a media briefing here when asked about the meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Geng, however, said the BRICS leaders meeting which will be attended by Modi and Xi will take place on the sidelines of the summit tomorrow. On the possibility of a Xi-Modi meeting, Geng said relevant information will be released in a timely manner. China's state-run media yesterday had quoted Chinese analysts as saying that Beijing would be forced to use a"military way" to end the standoff in the Sikkim sector ifIndia refuses to listen to the "historical lessons" being offered by it.

Also Read: Will India, China be able to resolve ‘Sikkim Standoff’ in G20 summit?