China urges Indonesia to cut out ‘interference’ as host of G20 summit after calls to discuss Ukraine war
- China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi the summit in November should discuss the economy, not politics
- Wang hails the arrival of the ‘Asian moment’ for global governance, suggesting Asian nations should form a tighter bond
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The annual summit of the group is expected to be held on the resort island of Bali in Indonesia, which holds the G20 rotating presidency.
“The UN Security Council is the right platform to discuss political and security issues,” Wang said in a statement from his ministry.
“The G20 should remain in its role, focusing on macroeconomic policy coordination and fulfil its proper mission.”
As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, China has an outsize influence in the body and can veto any resolution.
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Moscow has said the security of a country could not be isolated from others in the region and sees Nato’s eastward expansion as a threat by removing non-aligned buffer states.
Wang also said in the phone call that the “Asian moment” had arrived for global governance, and that Asia should form a tighter bond, echoing a joint statement from the Indonesian, Thai and Cambodian foreign ministries in early May.
“In the face of a turbulent global situation, Asian countries should play a positive role in the peaceful and stable development of the region and the world.”
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The agenda for the G20 summit, which will be attended by heads of state and government, has yet to be finalised. But Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said the Ukraine war could hold back global economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Like China, Indonesia has been unwilling to sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but said the attack was “unacceptable” and called for peace talks.
