G20 Summit: UK PM Rishi Sunak Says China's Objection to Climate Goals Delaying Joint Declaration

The UK accused Beijing of obstructing measures to tackle climate change and also refusing to condemn Russia for its role in the Ukraine War in the run-up to the meeting of the G20 leaders in New Delhi, news agency Bloomberg reported.

The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that China is objecting to proposals on Ukraine and climate change due to which G20 nations are yet to reach an agreement on a joint statement following the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

“We’re not there yet,” Sunak was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Sunak landed in New Delhi on Friday and said that the “job” can only be “done” if all leaders come together. “I’ve landed in Delhi ahead of the G20 summit. I am meeting world leaders to address some of the challenges that impact every one of us. Only together can we get the job done,” Sunak posted on X following his arrival.

China later responded to the criticism by saying that it attaches great importance to the G20.

“China attaches great importance to the G20 and has participated in the consultations and discussions on the G20 New Delhi Summit document in an active and constructive way,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular ministry briefing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming Sunak said: “Welcome UK PM Rishi Sunak! Looking forward to a fruitful Summit where we can work together for a better planet”.

Sunak said the negotiations between government officials so far have been challenging, referring to the aforementioned disagreements between partners.

The report by Bloomberg said that when it comes to climate change and action to prevent it, China has raised the issue of access to semiconductor technology to help developing and emerging economies transition to clean energy.

The report said that the only reason China is raising this issue is to highlight the issues it has with Washington’s wide-ranging export controls which has been imposed on Beijing on semiconductors.

To this the US responded by saying that it is not a sign of taking responsibility when a nation holds “climate hostage”for its own priorities.

“I’ve said many times that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) effort to link climate to America’s actions on other issues is not a game we are going to play, and that’s true in the G20 context as well,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

Even though Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, has skipped the G20 meeting, Chinese officials, according to several media outlets, is pushing back on Ukraine war and climate change.

Rishi Sunak in a separate post on LinkedIn said the UK will work with world leaders to protect the world’s most vulnerable.

“We’ll continue our work with world leaders to protect the most vulnerable. It’s why the G20 exists – because there are some issues we cannot deal with without all the world’s major economies working together. And that’s something I’m looking forward to doing this week,” Sunak said.