Individuals familiar with the situation in both India and China, Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to forego the forthcoming G20 leaders’ summit in India.
Chinese President skip G20 Summit in India: Reuters cited two Indian sources, including a diplomat stationed in China and another official from a different G20 country, stating that Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the New Delhi summit on September 9–10.
Given US President Joe Biden’s confirmation of attendance, the G20 conference slated in India was under consideration as a possible opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping to interact with him. Given that both major nations aimed to mend their strained relations due to various commercial and geopolitical issues, this event held considerable importance.
During the G20 conference in Bali, Indonesia, in November of the previous year, Xi and Biden last spoke.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will not personally attend the meeting in New Delhi and would instead send Sergei Lavrov, his foreign minister, to represent him.
According to a senior government representative from the host India, “we are aware that the premier will come” in place of Xi.
It is likely that Xi Jinping won’t travel to the meeting, according to information from two foreign diplomats in China and a government official from another G20 country.
“Speculations Surrounding Xi Jinping’s Absence Amidst Growing Diplomatic Activities and Anticipations of Biden Meeting”
According to Reuters, these Chinese sources, of which two stated that they had obtained this information from Chinese officials, said they did not know the precise reason for his alleged absence.
The recent spate of trips to Beijing by important U.S. officials has raised anticipations of a future meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden. The recent arrival of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has notably enhanced this optimism.
Furthermore, they have proposed the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting, scheduled to occur in San Francisco from November 12 to 18, as a potential location for conducting face-to-face negotiations between the two leaders.
Since China’s surprise lifting of harsh pandemic-related border restrictions earlier this year, Xi Jinping, who was notable for securing an unprecedented third term as leader, has travelled abroad very occasionally.
However, just last week, he attended a meeting of the BRICS group of important emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—in South Africa.
A number of ministerial meetings in India in the run-up to the G20 summit have been tumultuous. Notably, both Russia and China have consistently refused to support group declarations that included passages criticising Moscow’s entry into Ukraine the year prior.
In this setting, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, held talks outside the Johannesburg BRICS summit. They engaged in discussions on methods to alleviate tensions in their bilateral relationship, which had deteriorated due to clashes along their Himalayan border in 2020, resulting in the loss of lives for 24 troops.