China on Monday indicated that leader Xi Jinping would skip an important gathering of the world’s 20 top economies for the first time with Premier Li Qiang traveling to the event in New Delhi this weekend in his place.
Xi’s absence from the G20 Summit comes as tensions simmer between China and host country India over their disputed border and New Delhi’s growing ties with the United States.
Questions about Xi’s attendance at the meeting were first raised last week when Reuters reported the Chinese leader was likely to miss it, citing two unnamed Indian diplomats.
At a regular news conference Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Li would attend the summit on Saturday and Sunday, without mentioning Xi.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the ministry, sidestepped a question from a reporter about the reason for Xi’s non-attendance – which would be the first time China top’s leader has missed a G20 Summit.
Credit: cnn.com
