China's President Xi likely to skip G20 summit in Delhi

Diplomatic sources say Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to attend instead

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, centre, and China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip the G20 summit in Delhi next week, media reports said on Thursday.

The group, comprising 19 countries and the EU, addresses major issues related to the global economy, financial stability, climate change and sustainable development.

New Delhi holds the presidency this year and will host the annual meeting of heads of the state and governments on September 9 and 10.

Mr Xi was expected to attend the summit, along with other leaders including US President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his visit, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

But media reports quoting two diplomats – an Indian official and a foreign diplomat –said Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the summit.

The Indian Foreign Ministry did not respond to The National’s request for comment.

Mr Xi and Mr Modi had rare talks last week at the Brics summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The two leaders agreed to “intensify efforts” to de-escalate border tensions after diplomatic ties between the nations soured following clashes along their Himalayan frontier in 2020. The violence left 24 soldiers dead.

The Chinese President was expected to meet Mr Biden at the G20 summit in an effort to ease trade and geopolitical tensions between their countries.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has already announced that he will not travel to New Delhi. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is to attend instead.