Disappointed Xi Jinping not attending G20 summit: Biden
text_fields
Washington: US President Joe Biden has expressed his disappointment over Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping not attending the G20 summit in New Delhi this week.
"I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him," Biden told reporters on Sunday.
Xi had earlier said he would travel to New Delhi for the Summit, but China's Foreign Ministry did not confirm his attendance when asked to do so at a regular press briefing on August 31.
The last time Xi and Biden met was at the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia in 2022.
The two Presidents may still have an opportunity to speak in November, at a meeting among leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.
According to news reports, Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent China at the summit.
Biden, along with more than two dozen world leaders, is scheduled to attend the G20 Summit that is being hosted by Prime Minister Modi and will travel to India on September 7. He will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 on the sidelines of the historic meeting, the White House announced on Friday.
Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10 and Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1.
US President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.
According to recent media reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also not likely to attend the summit.
The G20 member countries represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
With inputs from agencies