Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to boycott next week’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, a decision that is certain to exacerbate China’s already tense relations with India.
According to persons familiar with the situation, tensions between China and India, the world’s two most populous nations, already pose a threat to the G-20 leaders’ ability to issue a single communique for the first time since the forum’s founding in 1999. A additional setback for the host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be Xi’s absence.
Diplomats from numerous nations involved in the planning claimed that Xi does not expect to travel to the Indian capital for the summit. One of the people indicated that another unnamed government figure would attend in his place, and the other said that Chinese Premier Li Qiang would. All requested anonymity when discussing internal discussions.
At a routine press conference on Friday, Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that Beijing will “release information in due course” regarding any travel arrangements for Xi. Before the G-20, Wang added, Li would travel to Indonesia to attend a summit of Asean leaders. The Ministry of External Affairs of India declined to respond.
On Thursday, US Vice President Joe Biden expressed his desire for Xi to attend. “The answer is: I hope he attends,” Biden said when asked if he expected Xi to travel to India.
Even though it was still uncertain whether Xi would come as of earlier on Thursday, Indian officials claimed they were still making preparations for him in terms of security measures and other requirements. They noted that Xi had not yet informed the administration whether he would be attending. The Chinese leader was most likely to skip the meeting, according to Reuters.
Since assuming office, Xi has never skipped a G-20 summit, so his absence would add to concerns about China’s influence abroad as its economy weakens. Additionally, it would stand in contrast to his participation in the BRICS summit last week in South Africa, where he met Modi.