Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to skip the upcoming G20 summit in India, according to sources familiar with the matter in both India and China. Premier Li Qiang is likely to represent Beijing at the meeting, which is scheduled to take place on September 9-10 in New Delhi. The summit was seen as a potential opportunity for Xi to meet with US President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his attendance. However, it is unclear why Xi will not be attending the summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also announced that he will not be traveling to New Delhi and will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead. The absence of both Xi and Putin raises questions about the potential for high-level meetings and discussions at the summit. The G20 summit in India has been marked by contentious ministerial meetings, with Russia and China opposing joint statements that condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Xi’s absence comes after he attended the BRICS summit in South Africa last week, where he held a rare conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss reducing tensions in their bilateral relationship.
