On a day Maldives' President Mohamed Muizzu landed in Beijing to sign bilateral agreements, China's state media in an editorial referred to India's diplomatic row with the Maldives, and called for an "open-minded" approach to looking at South Asian issues.
The Maldives government has suspended three ministers over their derogatory comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep, India's smallest Union Territory.
The Maldivian government has distanced itself from the "insulting" comments by the three ministers, and called the matter their "personal opinion that do not represent the views of the government".