BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping has decided not to go to India to participate in the G20 conference, in this regard Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended to US President Joe Biden.
According to international media, Joe Biden said in a statement that he hopes Xi Jinping will attend the G20 leaders’ summit in India next week. Yesterday, the British news agency Reuters reported the possible absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting.
In this regard, experts said that any decision by the Chinese President not to attend the meeting could be linked to hostility towards the host India. Two of the three sources in China said they had been informed of the expected absence by Chinese officials but did not know the reason, Reuters reported.
The two countries clashed after Beijing released a map showing Arunachal Pradesh and the Doklam Plateau. In this regard, India objected to China’s move in the past few days, so Beijing urged India to remain calm on the map.
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Xi Jinping has attended all other G20 summits since becoming president in 2013, except in 2021 during the Covid pandemic when he attended via video link. A Chinese official said Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the G20 meeting in New Delhi starting on September 9.
The conference in India was seen as a potential meeting point between Xi and Biden as the two superpowers seek to stabilize relations strained by trade and geopolitical tensions.
Xi Jinping last met Biden last November on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. Russian Li Qiang has already said he will not visit New Delhi and will instead send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The G20 summit is seen as an important showcase for India, but relations between the G20 host and China have been strained for more than three years since a June 2020 clash between troops on both sides left 24 dead.
