China doesn’t say anything despite approving the consensus document

Using the words “…hard work of our teams, and with your cooperation, there is consensus on the New Delhi G20 Summit Leaders Declaration,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that G20 member states have agreed a consensus leaders’ statement for the conference.

How China eventually came around to accepting the consensus declaration is still a mystery given that Beijing had serious concerns about the language to be used in the backdrop of the war as well as the reference of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

A “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine” was called for in the consensus statement that the G20 leaders issued, and member nations were urged to “refrain from the threat of use of force to seek territorial acquisition” or act against the territorial integrity of any state.

Premier Li Qiang’s G20 delegation from China kept quiet about it and avoided speaking with international media up until late on Saturday.

Li, who represented China at the summit in place of President Xi Jinping and is the second-ranking leader in the Communist Party of China’s leadership, nor his team commented on the statement. The Chinese embassy was also contacted by HT for comment, but no answer was received.

It’s unclear how the issues were resolved given that multiple reports in the lead-up to the conference said Beijing had become the main obstacle to a consensus statement.

The closest Beijing has gotten to indirectly referencing the paper while criticizing the US was in a comment piece published by Xinhua, China’s official news agency, on Saturday evening.

The Chinese G20 group, led by Premier Li Qiang, is in New Delhi to promote cooperation and consensus rather than conflict and division. China’s constructive involvement at the summit will be seen by the nation that criticizes others for not adopting its “zero-sum” philosophy, the Xinhua article added without expanding on what it meant by “constructive.”

It said, “…G20 members gathering in New Delhi over the weekend are widely expected to promote global economic growth against the backdrop of headwinds, a result of the ‘high fence, small yard’ protectionism led by the United States.”

The word “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which Beijing reportedly objected to using in official G20 papers since the UN does not recognize Sanskrit, was also used in the commentary.

The Sanskrit phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” found in ancient Indian texts, translates as “the world is one family.” The comment piece said that the idea that nations would help one another in pursuing progress is underscored by the theme of the Indian G20 Summit, which is “One Earth, One Family, One Future” in English.