Chinese President Xi may skip G20 summit in India
Reports said Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the G20 meeting instead
Chinese President Xi Jinping may miss the G20 summit scheduled in New Delhi on September 9-10 and Premier Li Qiang is likely to represent the country instead. Indian official sources, however, said that Beijing has not confirmed the same yet.
The summit in India had been viewed as a venue at which Xi may meet US President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his attendance, as the two leaders try to mend relations soured by trade and geopolitical tensions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already announced he will not travel to New Delhi and will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead.
Reuters quoted an unnamed senior government official from India as saying: “We are aware that the premier will come (in place of Xi).”
In China, two foreign diplomats and a government official from another G20 country said Xi will likely not attend the New Delhi summit.
Xi-Modi meet
The sources in China said they were not aware of the reason for his expected absence.
Indian media reports said Beijing was yet to confirm Xi’s participation in the summit to be hosted by India.
The latest development comes a week after Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in South Africa and discussed reducing tensions along their disputed border.
Xi’s reported decision to keep away from the G20 summit comes shortly after China released a “standard map” showing parts of eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
The Indian government has publicly rejected the map and reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh, which China dubs Southern Tibet, is an integral part of India.
(With inputs from agencies)
