Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pushes Himalayan neighbours on ‘territorial integrity’ at forum near disputed border with India

Top Chinese diplomat stresses environment and infrastructure as he hosts officials in Tibetan city near contested area of Arunachal Pradesh

Officials from more than a dozen countries attend event on cooperation in Trans-Himalaya region, but New Delhi does not take part

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the event in Tibet. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:08pm, 5 Oct 2023Updated: 6:27pm, 5 Oct 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pushed Himalayan nations for stronger cooperation on environmental issues while urging them to respect “territorial integrity” as he hosted diplomats near China’s disputed border with India.

He made the comments on Thursday at an international forum on Trans-Himalayan regional cooperation in China’s Tibet autonomous region.

Officials from more than a dozen countries, including several that share a border with China, attended the event.

But India was notably absent. The forum’s host city Nyingchi is 160km (100 miles) from the disputed area of Arunachal Pradesh where New Delhi and Beijing hold competing claims.

It is unclear whether India was invited. It did not participate in previous forums in 2018 and 2019.

Border tensions between China and India ramped up after Beijing last month denied accreditation to Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh to attend the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

During his opening speech at the forum, Wang – who is also the Communist Party’s foreign policy chief – called on countries in the region to respect each other’s territory to ensure stability, prosperity and sustainable development.

“We must adhere to mutual respect and trust and jointly safeguard regional unity and mutual trust,” he said.