China says it is open to India and others joining COVID-19 conference

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China was open to India and other South Asian countries participating in a virtual conference on fighting COVID-19. The foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will meet via video link on Tuesday to exchange views on fighting the pandemic, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

The meeting is part of China's cooperation with South Asia countries and China is open to participation by other countries in the region, Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman, said when asked by reporters at a regular briefing why India was not on the list of attendees.