US official chides Xi Jinping for his anticipated absence from the G20 and COP26 meetings

‘President Xi has chosen not to attend these summits. He‘s chosen not to leave China at all in calendar year 2021,’ National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says

Joe Biden has yet to meet face-to-face with Xi since becoming US president and wants to by the end of the year

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Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, noted on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be attending either G20 or COP26: “President Biden does believe it’s important that he have the opportunity to have a face-to-face engagement with Xi.” Photo: EPA via Bloomberg

Published: 5:56am, 27 Oct 2021Updated: 5:10pm, 31 Oct 2021

A senior US official called out Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday for not travelling to two impending global conferences in Europe, contrasting that with President Joe Biden’s plans to engage in energised meetings with other world leaders.

The veiled swipe came ahead of meetings of the Group of 20 economic nations Saturday and Sunday in Rome – long seen as an opportunity to ease US-China tensions – and COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, which begins on Sunday and continues through November 12.

“President Xi has chosen not to attend these summits. He’s chosen not to leave China at all in calendar year 2021 to see any leader. That’s of course his choice,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. “President Biden does believe it’s important that he have the opportunity to have a face-to-face engagement with Xi Jinping.”

Neither Xi nor Russian President Vladimir Putin plan on attending in person, citing Covid-19 concerns. The absence of the authoritarian leaders could give Washington more opportunity to pursue its strategy of aligning closely with other countries similarly frustrated with Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping does not plan on attending either the G20 meeting in Rome this weekend or the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland in November. Photo: Reuters

Sullivan said that the US could engage with China and Russia through other channels, adding that it was possible to work with Beijing on environmental issues and still pressure it to improve its human rights record.

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