Chinese President Xi Jinping to skip G20 Summit; Premier Li Qiang to attend
President Xi also did not attend Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits in Jakarta this week
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 summit in New Delhi this week and the delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang, Beijing announced on Monday.
Li will attend the 18th G20 summit on September 9 and 10, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, without saying why Xi was skipping the meeting. President Xi also did not attend Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits in Jakarta this week.
In 2021, Chinese President Xi also did not fly to Italy to take part in the G20 summit due to Beijing’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already conveyed his decision to not attend the New Delhi summit. Like in the case of China, the Russian foreign minister will attend in Putin’s place.
The G20 member countries represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.
The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
(With agency inputs)