China’s Xi to skip G20 summit in India, will send premier Li Qiang

China will send Premier Li Qiang to the upcoming Group of 20 summit in India, signaling that President Xi Jinping will skip it and potentially aggravating Beijing’s already rocky relationship with New Delhi.

The announcement was made by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

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Tensions between the world’s two most populous countries already threaten to prevent G20 leaders from issuing a joint communique for the first time since the forum was created in 1999, Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing people familiar with the situation. Xi’s non-attendance would also be a blow for the host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

And it would mark a major shift in how Xi operates. The Chinese leader has attended every G20 leaders’ summit since taking power about a decade ago. He’s also sought to burnish his image as a peacemaker since emerging from three years of COVID-19 isolation at last year’s meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

President Joe Biden told reporters on Sunday he was “disappointed about reports Xi plans to skip the G20,” but added that eventually “I am going to get to see him.”

Xi’s absence would raise more questions about China’s global clout as its economy slows. It would also draw a contrast with his attendance last week at the BRICS summit in South Africa, where he met with Modi.

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