Li, not Xi, to attend G20 Summit; speculations build on erratic Chinese prez

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, September 4: China officially confirmed on Monday that Prime Minister of the Communist country Li Qiang will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9-10. The Ministry of foreign affairs of China did not give reasons for its President Xi Jinping missing the G20 Summit.

“At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India on September 9 and 10,” said the Chinese Embassy in India, while quoting the Ministry of foreign affairs.

China had briefed the envoys of the western nations beforehand, according to source-based reports, on Xi skipping the G20 Summit. It is also being stated that Xi will not be attending the ASEAN Summit.

The move to skip the G20 and ASEAN Summits has come close on the heels of the Communist nation releasing a map which claimed parts of India and four South-east Asian nations as its own, inviting public rebuke from the affected countries.

China observers are also noting the fact that Xi had looked forlorn and lost when his translator was stopped to accompany him on the red-carpet in South Africa during the BRICS Summit. Some of the China observers also claim that Xi may be struggling with health issues, which may possibly explain his staying away from the public views for weeks and also skipping key multilateral events.

It may also be noted that Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have not held bilateral meetings since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and also the 2020 Galwan violent clash between the armies of the two countries. The two leaders are stated to have briefly chatted on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia last year and BRICS Summit in South Africa.

Xi will be skipping the G20 Summit in New Delhi at a time when there is a buildup of popular negative sentiment against the Communist nation, as the Opposition keeps raising the issue of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) allegedly occupying Indian territories in the Ladakh region. India is also seeking to restrict imports of electronics goods from China as a possible fallout of the bilateral relations affected by the border tension.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has expressed disappointment at Xi skipping the G20 Summit. The Sino-US relations are also in a tailspin after the Covid-19 pandemic.