Premier Li Qiang will attend the event in New Delhi this weekend in lieu of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who China said on Monday will for the first time miss a major gathering of the world’s 20 largest countries.
As tensions between China and the G20 Summit’s host nation, India, over their disputed border and New Delhi’s expanding connections with the United States rise, Xi chooses not to attend.
Initial concerns over Xi’s participation in the meeting surfaced last week when Reuters said the Chinese president was probably going to miss it, citing two unidentified Indian officials. Li will attend the summit on Saturday and Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced during a normal press briefing on Monday, leaving out Xi.
A reporter questioned Mao Ning, a ministry spokeswoman, about the rationale behind Xi’s non-attendance, which would be the first time a G20 Summit has been skipped by a Chinese leader.
Without responding directly to the issue, Mao replied, “The Group of 20 is a significant forum for international economic cooperation, and China has always attached great importance to and actively participated in relevant activities.”
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Connecting Amid Chaos
Xi used a video link to join the sessions in 2020 and 2021, even amid the COVID epidemic.
The conference will also be skipped by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted internationally for suspected war crimes in Ukraine. Instead, Russia’s foreign minister will be in attendance.
The news from Beijing has dampened expectations that US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi might interact during the meeting as the two countries attempt to mend their strained relations.
Biden openly stated his dismay that he wouldn’t be able to visit Xi in New Delhi on Sunday without any confirmation from Beijing. Biden told reporters on Sunday, “I am disappointed, but I will get to see him.
In the past, Biden told CNN that he would meet with Xi in “the fall.” In order to avoid escalating tensions into open confrontation, the two presidents last talked face-to-face in November 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali.
At that time, they agreed to open up lines of contact once more. Since Biden began office, the two have only ever met in person once. Following the derailment of an early attempt at peace earlier this year by a suspected Chinese spy balloon, four US cabinet members have just visited Beijing.
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Source: CNN
