Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend G20 Summit in India in place of Xi Jinping: Foreign ministry

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in India’s capital New Delhi city on September 9 and 10, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday (Sept 4).

"At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India on September 9 and 10," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a press release.

"China looks forward to the G20 New Delhi Summit reaching a consensus on tackling challenges in the economy and development, conveying confidence to the outside world and promoting shared prosperity and growth," the statement added.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

No reasons provided

The confirmation came days after a Reuters news agency report quoting sources stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping will be skipping the marquee event.

Till now, no reasons have been provided by the Chinese officials for Xi’s absence from the G20 meeting.

Before the India visit, Li will head to Indonesia to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) being held from September 5-8, the foreign ministry stated on September 1.

Xi is the second leader to give the G20 event in New Delhi a miss. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it will not be possible for him to travel to India to participate in the summit.

He will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In its capacity as the current president of G20, India is hosting the annual summit of the influential grouping.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden expressed "disappointment" in Xi skipping the event.

"I am disappointed... but I am going to get to see him," Biden told reporters on Sunday (September 3). However, he didn’t say when the next meeting between him and President Xi Jinping will take place.

The map row

Ahead of the G20 Summit, China released a controversial "standard map" that seemingly showed parts of India's Arunachal Pradesh and eastern Ladakh as Chinese territory and also laidclaim to the South China Sea. The move drew strong responses from five nations, including India,Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

A politician in Nepal also cancelled a visit to China, saying the new map did not take into accountthe country's revised map, which had stoked tensions with India.

On Thursday (Aug 31), China indicated it wasn't budging on the map."It is a routine practice in China's exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

"We hope relevant sides can stay objective and calm, and refrain from over-interpreting the issue."

WATCH WION LIVE HERE