G20 leaders are meeting in New Delhi this weekend Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend in Xi’s absence NEW DELHI: Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to skip this week’s G20 Summit in New Delhi, Beijing announced on Monday, in what is seen as a setback for India’s presidency of the major forum for the world’s biggest economies. China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Premier Li Qiang will be attending the meeting of global leaders in New Delhi on Sept. 9 and 10, without mentioning Xi. “Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to the New Delhi G20 Summit in India,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the ministry, said during a press conference in Beijing. “The G20 is an important forum for international economic cooperation. China has all along attached great importance to and taken an active part in G20 events,” she added. “We are ready to work with all parties to make the G20 Summit a success and contribute to the steady recovery of the global economy and sustainable development.” Xi’s likely absence will be the first time China’s top leader has skipped a G20 summit and is seen as a setback to India’s presidency of the grouping this year. “Xi opting out of G20 is a setback,” Sanjay Kapoor, editor of the English fortnightly Hard News, told Arab News. “The credibility of the discussion would be hurt as China is a big power and you can’t talk about the world economy and other issues without their presence.” With Xi’s expected absence, China appears reluctant to endorse India’s global ambitions. “It’s not like Beijing does not see value in the grouping, but it does not want to be seen endorsing India as a leader of the Global South, which is how the Indian government has pitched its G20 presidency,” Manoj Kewalramani, a fellow in China studies and chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies programmes in Takshashila Institution, told Arab News. Indrani Bagchi, senior diplomatic editor at the Aspen Global Leadership Network, said that Xi’s absence at an important gathering for world leaders may risk China’s stance at the global stage. “It reflects very poorly on China’s own approach to the world,” Bagchi told Arab News. “Not showing up, for the second largest economy of the world — that does not reflect well on China.”