China's Xi likely to skip G20 summit in India

Two Indian officials, one diplomat stationed in China, and another official representing a different G20 nation have indicated that Premier Li Qiang is anticipated to act as Beijing's representative at the upcoming September 9-10 meeting in New Delhi.

Requests for comments directed to the Indian and Chinese foreign ministries' spokespersons remained unanswered.

Moreover, there are indications that Li may also participate in a summit involving leaders from East and Southeast Asian nations in Jakarta, Indonesia, scheduled for September 5-7, as reported by Kyodo.

The New Delhi summit had been regarded as a potential venue for a meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his attendance. This comes as the two superpowers endeavor to mend relations strained by an array of trade and geopolitical conflicts. Xi's last meeting with Biden occurred on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November of the previous year.

In contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly announced that he will not be traveling to New Delhi and will instead delegate Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A senior Indian government official, serving as the host, informed Reuters, "We are aware that the premier will come," in place of Xi.

Meanwhile, sources in China, including two foreign diplomats and a government official from another G20 nation, have suggested that Xi is unlikely to attend the summit.

Two out of three sources in China indicated that they were informed by Chinese officials, yet they remained unaware of the reason for Xi's anticipated absence.

All officials interviewed for this report requested anonymity as they were not authorized to provide statements to the media.

The prospect of a meeting between Xi and Biden has gained momentum due to a series of high-profile visits by top U.S. officials to Beijing in recent months, including a recent trip by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Another potential summit where the two leaders could engage in face-to-face discussions is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting scheduled for November 12-18 in San Francisco.

Xi, who secured an unprecedented third term as leader in October of the previous year, has undertaken relatively few overseas journeys since China abruptly eased strict pandemic-related border controls earlier this year.

Nonetheless, he did participate in a meeting with leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This meeting took place in South Africa last week.

Ahead of the G20 summit, several ministerial meetings in India have been marked by contention, as Russia and China jointly opposed joint statements that included paragraphs condemning Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine last year.

During the BRICS meeting in Johannesburg, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in a rare conversation and discussed measures to reduce tensions in their bilateral relationship. This relationship had soured after clashes along their Himalayan frontier in 2020 resulted in the deaths of 24 soldiers.