‘Unoccupied’ an inch of foreign land: Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping has said that China Xi Jinping has said that his country has not occupied a single inch of foreign land.

San Francisco: Amid the ongoing border dispute between India and China, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was on a visit to the United States, said on Thursday that his country “has not provoked conflict or war, nor occupied an inch of foreign land.” He emphasized: “For the seventy years and more since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has not provoked conflict or war, nor occupied an inch of foreign land.” Xi made the comments at a dinner on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, hours after his much-anticipated talks with US President Joe Biden, where both leaders vowed to reduce tensions between the two countries.

The event was organized by the US-China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations and Xi’s comments on the border dispute were closely watched given concerns about China’s tightening scrutiny of business and bilateral tensions.

During the crucial meeting, US President Joe Biden expressed concern about human rights abuses in China, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.

“President Biden underscored the universality of human rights and the responsibility of all countries to fulfill their international human rights obligations. He expressed concern about human rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong,” the White House readout said.

Significantly, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a conflict at Galwan in 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of the pandemic. Since May 2020, when Chinese troops attempted to forcefully change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, both sides have maintained positions near Patrol Point 15. This location became a flashpoint of tension after the clash in Galwan.

Since 2020, over 50,000 Indian soldiers have been deployed at outposts along the LAC, equipped with sophisticated weapons to deter any unilateral attempt to change the status quo on the LAC.

(With input from the agency)