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June 19 (UPI) -- China and India are exchanging blame following a violent clash in the Galwan area of India's Ladakh region, as Indians took to the streets to demonstrate against China, burning Chinese products and even an effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday the "serious situation" in Galwan is "clearly wrong." Zhao also said the "responsibility lies entirely with India."
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Zhao's statement comes after troops clashed at the Sino-India border. At least 20 Indian soldiers died; China is likely to have suffered casualties, but has not disclosed numbers.
An Indian military official told the Hindustan Times on Friday evidence indicates Chinese troops also died in the clash.
"Our information indicates that the Chinese side lost the commanding officer of the battalion deployed near Patrolling Point 14 of the Galwan region where the two armies clashed. The battalion's second-in-command also died in the incident," the senior official with the Indian military's South Block said.
It remains unclear which side initiated actions that sparked the conflict.
India's military has said Beijing's People's Liberation Army had tried to build a structure on the "Indian side" of the disputed border after an "argument" erupted on Monday.
India may have also provoked China, however.
Akhil Bery, an analyst with Eurasia Group, told CNBC Indian construction along its side of the Line of Actual Control, which defines the border, might have led to the conflict.
"The Chinese have taken umbrage to the construction of that because that would allow India to mobilize troops more quickly," Bery said.
Indians have called for the boycott of Chinese goods, as state-run firms are canceling major contracts with China.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp. of India said Thursday it will terminate a $61 million contract with Beijing National Railway and Research and Design Institute, citing "poor progress," Hindustan Times and local news service ET Now Digital reported.
