China says India welcome at anti-virus video meeting

China says it will hold a video conference with South Asian governments to discuss fighting the coronavirus, and India is welcome to join

BEIJING -- China will hold a video conference with South Asian governments to discuss fighting the coronavirus and India is welcome to join, Beijing's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, amid ongoing tensions with New Delhi over border clashes. China organized Tuesday's meeting with the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, according to a ministry statement. In response to questions from reporters, a ministry spokesman said India was welcome to join. India is being engulfed by a devastating surge of COVID-19 infections, spurred by insidious variants of coronavirus that have pushed the country's health care system to the breaking point. “The meeting is open to all South Asian countries, including India,” said the spokesman, Wang Wenbin. “We welcome India and all regional countries to take an active part in the meeting.”