Xi Jinping’s absence challenges G20’s status as global leadership forum
The no-show is a blow to host Narendra Modi, and it also shakes the stature of the G20 as the pre-eminent global leadership forum, amid deep fissures between its members.
Brussels/Washington/New Delhi/Beijing | For one Western official involved in preparations for this week’s G20 summit in India, the news that China’s President Xi Jinping would skip the event could only mean one thing: “They have been working to scupper our joint work all year,” the official said. “Not attending is the obvious step.”
Xi’s decision to send Premier Li Qiang to the summit instead, which Western officials say was conveyed to them by Chinese counterparts, has yet to be confirmed by Beijing. But the absence of China’s president will be a blow to India’s rotating presidency of the multilateral gathering and the status of the New Delhi summit.
