According to multiple reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip next week’s G20 leaders’ summit in India, a development that would reduce the chances of a meeting with President Biden.
Biden’s trip to New Delhi, announced last week, was seen as another opportunity to increase cooperation between Indo-Pacific allies, which could act as a counterweight to China.
The president said he was still confident Xi would attend the summit.
“The answer is: I hope he comes,” Biden said Thursday.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed last Tuesday that Biden would attend the summit scheduled for September 7-10 and various meetings with world leaders, but did not disclose which ones.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and other world leaders would discuss a wide range of topics, including climate change, the global economy, war in Ukraine and poverty.
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Biden and Xi last met last year at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, and a possible meeting between the two leaders this year was seen as a chance to improve a relationship that has been deteriorating due to trade and geopolitical tensions.
Other senior officials traveled to China to help ease tensions.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently met with her Chinese counterpart, People’s Republic of China Commerce Secretary Wang Wentao, to discuss export controls that have frustrated Chinese officials.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China in June, where he met with two senior foreign policy officials and Xi himself.
Tense relations with India could fuel Xi Jinping’s decision
Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
Xi’s decision could be described as an attack on India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, experts told Portal.
India and China have been embroiled in a dispute over the two countries’ shared border for three years, and tensions only escalated this week after Malaysia joined India in protesting against a new Chinese map showing India’s territory and Malaysia’s maritime areas near Borneo claimed.
However, just last week, according to an Indian Foreign Ministry official, Xi and Modi agreed to step up de-escalation efforts at the disputed border, bringing home thousands of troops stationed there.
India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, while China’s economy is slowing.
Biden’s next opportunity to engage with Modi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Biden are seen during an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday, June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Greg Nash)
Biden’s trip to India will also be his latest attempt to engage with Modi, following an official state visit to the White House in June. The visit was controversial because of Modi’s human rights record.
A handful of Democrats boycotted Modi’s speech to a joint session of Congress and urged Biden to make human rights a focus in their meetings. But Modi dismissed this criticism during a press conference with Biden.
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Biden reportedly discussed democratic values with Modi during their Oval Office meeting, and the president stressed that the United States’ relationship with India is “more dynamic than ever before in history.”
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