Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to attend an upcoming G20 summit in India, scheduled for September 9-10, Reuters reported quoting sources in both India and China.
Instead, Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the meeting in New Delhi. Both Indian and Chinese foreign ministries have not provided any comments on this matter.
The summit in India was seen as a potential opportunity for President Xi to meet with US President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his participation. The aim was to address and improve the strained relations between the two superpowers due to various trade and geopolitical tensions.
Xi and Biden last met at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November of the previous year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also announced that he will not be attending the summit in New Delhi and will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his place. A senior government official from India, the host country, has confirmed that Premier Li Qiang is expected to attend in place of Xi.
In China, sources from foreign diplomats and another G20 country’s government official have suggested that Xi is unlikely to travel for the summit, although they are not aware of the specific reason for his expected absence.