The video conference on Monday, which focused on coordinating the coronavirus response, took place as border tensions also simmer between India and some of its other neighbours, including Nepal and Pakistan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted the call, said the four countries should strengthen their connections for regional peace and security, and called for more cooperation to prevent the cross-border spread of the virus, according to a foreign ministry statement.
But the talks went beyond the pandemic, veering into areas that are likely to displease India.
Representing Pakistan, economy minister Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar praised cooperation on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which India has not joined because it passes through disputed parts of Kashmir that New Delhi views as being occupied by Pakistan.
Bakhtyar also called for an end to the “military siege” of “Indian occupied” Jammu and Kashmir to allow international health experts access to the region.
Both Pakistan and China lodged stern protests after India withdrew the special status of the disputed region of Kashmir and Ladakh last year, a move that affected contested territories claimed by both China and Pakistan in their border regions with India.