Xi Jinping’s pass on G20 summit more about regional relations, not US tensions, experts say

Foreign ministry did not cite reason for Premier Li Qiang standing in for Chinese president at this weekend’s summit
Xi also skipped key event at the Brics summit in South Africa weeks earlier

Diplomacy

Kawala Xie

Published: 3:35pm, 4 Sep 2023

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed.

Instead, the ministry said Premier Li Qiang will attend the international forum, marking the first time the Chinese leader will miss the landmark meeting amid simmering tensions with the West.

The announcement has dimmed hopes of a possible meeting between Xi and his US counterpart Joe Biden at the Apec meeting in San Francisco in November. In a WeChat post on Monday, the Ministry of State Security cast doubt over Xi’s attendance, calling on the US to “show real sincerity”.

On Sunday, Biden said “I am disappointed … but I am going to get to see him,” without indicating when such a meeting would take place.

The announcement that Xi will be absent from the G20 meeting came just weeks after he skipped a key event at the Brics summit in South Africa, where he was scheduled to make a speech. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao delivered the speech on his behalf instead.

The foreign ministry’s confirmation came as frosty US-China relations have begun to show signs of thawing, with top American officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, climate envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo each visiting China over the past few months to rebuild communications with Beijing.

Li is expected to head to New Delhi after he wraps up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia on Friday.

The foreign ministry said China hoped that the G20 meeting would focus on discussions for the recovery of the world economy.

“The downward pressure on the world economy is increasing and the difficulties of global sustainable development are increasing … the G20 should strengthen partnerships and work together to deal with outstanding challenges in the field of international economy and development, so as to promote the recovery, growth and development of the world economy and make a positive contribution to global sustainable development,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

“China hopes that the New Delhi Summit will build consensus on this, convey confidence to the outside world, and jointly promote prosperity and development,” she added.

Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said Xi’s absence did not mean China is not paying attention to the G20. It is a reasonable decision to send Li, who is in charge of the country’s economic policy, to represent China at the G20, which is intended as a platform to discuss international economic and financial issues, he said.

“The G20 now talks about everything and engages in politics, like the Japanese want it to endorse its nuclear water treatment plan. Everyone has their own agenda there,” he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he planned to use the G20 meeting this week to seek international understanding on the country’s decision to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. China reacted harshly to the move by banning all seafood imports from the country.

Shi Yinhong, another international relations professor from Renmin University, said that as many G20 countries now have “varying degrees of confrontation” with China, the G20 may be seen as a platform with “shrinking value” by Beijing because it can only exert limited influence.

Zhu Feng, dean of international studies at Nanjing University, said Xi’s choice to skip the G20 summit was not about regressing US-China relations, but rather evidence that India-China relations were being hampered.

“It’s normal that Xi chose not to attend,” Zhu said, arguing India’s ongoing military exercises on its border with China – which will continue during the G20 summit – will pressure China.

Xi’s absence from the G20 summit could be seen as a blow to India, which has chaired the G20 this year, as China and India have continued to clash on border issues. Beijing boycotted a G20 tourism event in the Kashmir region, where India has competing territorial claims with China and Pakistan.

Xi has spent little time on overseas trips this year since he resumed in-person diplomacy, as the country is facing a slower-than-expected economy recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. In March, he visited Russia, and last month he attended the Brics summit in South Africa, as China is seen to ramp up a diplomatic offensive in the developing world to fashion an alternative to the US-led global order.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin also confirmed earlier that he will skip the summit, as world leaders are expected to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine while pressuring China to use its influence to help end the war.

Putin will reportedly attend a Belt and Road Initiative forum hosted by China in October.

Additional reporting from Yuanyue Dang

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