Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said that the South Asian governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were invited to the call.
“The meeting is open to all South Asian countries, including India,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, AP reported. “We welcome India and all regional countries to take an active part in the meeting.”
A violent altercation last June between Chinese and Indian soldiers that resulted in multiple deaths in the Karakoram mountains is the cause of a current standoff between China and India at their borders.
However, Wang said on Monday at a press conference that China has been closely following the COVID-19 situation in India and expressed sympathies over the worsening situation.
He also added that China is ready to provide support to help India combat its new wave of infections.
“We hope that all countries can stand in solidarity to fight against the virus, the common enemy of mankind,” Wang said.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
India’s surge of COVID-19 infections is spurred by insidious variants of coronavirus that have pushed the country’s health care system to the breaking point.
Wang said Beijing is working with Chinese companies to “actively meet” Indian needs for ventilators and anti-epidemic materials following the country’s spike in infections.
India, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, is facing a chronic shortage of space in its intensive care wards. Hospitals are experiencing oxygen shortages and many people are being forced to turn to makeshift facilities for mass burials and cremations.
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