China said relations with India remain "generally stable" despite President Xi Jinping's decision not to attend this week's Group of 20 summit in New Delhi.

China announced on Monday that Premier Li Qiang will attend the September 9-10 meeting.

Without mentioning a lingering border dispute, or the reason for Xi's decision not to attend, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Chinese leaders have "always supported India’s hosting of this year’s summit and are ready to work with all parties to make the G20 summit a success."

"At present, China-India relations remain generally stable, and dialogue and communication have been maintained at all levels,” Mao told reporters at a daily briefing on Tuesday.

"We are willing to work with the Indian side to promote greater and continuous development of China-India relations." (AP)