G20 Summit being held in India. US President, Joe Biden, expressed his disappointment at the decision of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to skip the upcoming G20 summit in India. Biden remarked, ‘I am disappointed… but I am going to get to see him,’ during a Sunday press briefing. However, he did not specify when the meeting might occur.
G20 Summit in India
Beijing confirmed on Monday that its delegation to the Delhi summit would be led by Premier Li Qiang. Xi Jinping and Joe Biden’s last meeting took place at the G20 summit in Indonesia in the previous year.
US-China relations remain strained despite numerous diplomatic efforts from Washington this year to revive dialogue. China’s foreign ministry did not confirm or deny Xi’s attendance at the Delhi summit when questioned during Monday’s press briefing. Instead, they stated, ‘Li Qiang will lead the Chinese delegation to attend the G20 summit. It’s a major and important global economic forum. China has always attached importance to it and actively participated in related events,’ according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.
News reports last week, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, indicated that Xi did not plan to attend. This news coincides with escalating tensions between China and India, including border disputes in the Himalayan region. Just last week, India protested against China’s release of a map claiming the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin plateau as Chinese territory.
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden may still have an opportunity to speak in November at a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders in San Francisco. Following their meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali in November of the previous year, an alleged Chinese spy balloon spotted in US skies disrupted hopes for a reset in bilateral relations, delaying dialogue efforts by months.
The two countries have disagreements on various issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, human rights concerns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, territorial disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and economic restrictions limiting Beijing’s access to high-tech components.
In an attempt to improve relations, several top US officials have traveled to China in recent months, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
Xi Jinping continues to position Beijing as a leader of the developing world, seeking support for an alternative to the Washington-led global order. During a visit to South Africa last month to meet with Brics nation leaders, he criticized Western ‘hegemony’ and encouraged developing nations to ‘shake off the yoke of colonialism’ in his speeches.
The Brics, initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is set to expand in January to include Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, a diplomatic achievement for Beijing.