Mysterious bag, private internet demand: Report of chaos at hotel where Chinese G20 delegates stayed

The five-star hotel in New Delhi where the Chinese delegation stayed for G-20 found itself flummoxed managing the situation as strange events took place one after another.

A report by the Times of India claimed the bags that the delegates carried were of unusual dimensions raising suspicion. The hotel staff were however told to clear them as they belonged to the category of diplomatic baggage, but a staff member reported ‘suspicious equipment’ inside the bag and that started a 12-hour drama, the TOI report said. The Chinese delegates stayed at Delhi’s Taj Palace hotel.

According to the report, the hotel authorities wanted to pass the bag through the scanner to be certain of the content inside, but apparently, the Chinese side resisted that. The Indian security team did not yield to the resistance of the Chinese side.

They stood outside the room where the suspicious object was found as the Chinese side deliberated what to do with the bag. After 12 hours, the report said, it was decided that the bag would be sent to the embassy. The equipment remained a mystery as the bag moved to the embassy.

This was not the only strange thing the Chinese delegation did. They demanded a private network refusing the use the hotel’s internet connection. The demand was declined by the hotel.

China President Xi Jinping sent Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi. External affairs minister S Jaishankar said New Delhi did not see this move as a snub as each country can decide for themselves at what level they would be represented. “What I think is important is what is the position which the country has taken, how much the country has contributed to the deliberations and the outcomes. And I would say here that all the G20 members, and since the question was asked specifically about China, I would say China as well,” Jaishankar said after all participants agreed to the New Delhi Declaration — making India’s G20 presidency a success.

On the declaration, China commented that the declaration sent a positive signal to the world.