Tag: Xi Jinping

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping meeting aimed at getting relationship back on better footing, but tough issues loom

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping head into their big meeting at a country estate on Wednesday hoping to stabilise US-China relations after a period of tumult, but the US president also is prepared to confront his counterpart on difficult issues such as trade, Beijing’s burgeoning relationship with Iran and human rights concerns.

The two leaders, who will meet on the sidelines of a summit of Asian-Pacific leaders, last spoke a year ago. Since then, already fraught ties between the two economic superpowers have been further strained by the US downing of a Chinese spy balloon that had traversed the continental US and over differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China’s hacking of a Biden official’s emails and other incidents.

The two leaders are in California for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum but will hold their one-on-one talks at Filoli Estate, a country house and museum about 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of San Francisco, according to three senior administration officials. The officials requested anonymity to discuss the location, which had not yet been confirmed by the White House or the Chinese government due to tight security.

Both men are seeking to show the world that while the US and China are economic competitors, they are not locked in a winner-take-all faceoff with global implications. Their relationship has been increasingly defined by differences over export controls, Taiwan and the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.

Biden is expected to let Xi know that he would like China to use its sway over Iran to make clear that Tehran or its proxies should not take action that could lead to the expansion of the Israel-Hamas war. The Biden administration also sees the Chinese, a big buyer of Iranian oil, as having considerable leverage with Iran, which is a major backer of Hamas.

Biden on Tuesday billed the meeting as a chance to get Washington and Beijing back “on a normal course corresponding” once again.

But White House National Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden was “not going to be afraid to confront where confrontation is needed on issues where we don’t see eye to eye.”

“We’re also not going to be afraid, nor should we be afraid, as a confident nation, to engage in diplomacy on ways which we can cooperate with China — on climate change, for instance, and clean energy technology,” Kirby said.

Biden will be focused on managing the countries’ increasingly fierce economic competition and keeping open lines of communication to prevent misunderstandings that could lead to direct conflict between the two powers.

While he’s expected to defend US expansion of export controls on semiconductor chips, he also will assure Xi that the US is not trying to wage an economic war with Beijing amid continuing signs that China’s economy is struggling to recover from the disruptions of the pandemic.

Xi, meanwhile, is looking for assurances from Biden that the US will not support Taiwan’s independence, start a new cold war or suppress China’s economic growth. He’s also keen to show the US that China is still a good place to invest.

Even before their meeting, there were some signs of a thaw: The State Department on Tuesday announced that the US and China — two of the world’s biggest polluters — had agreed to pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030, through wind, solar and other renewables.

There was also hope for some concrete agreements to come out of the meeting Wednesday, including on re-establishing military-to-military communications that have largely gone dark since August 2022, and on efforts to curb illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is increasingly responsible for US drug overdoses. Many of the chemicals used to manufacture the drug come from China.

The APEC summit events already have attracted considerable demonstrations and more were expected Wednesday, including protests against Xi and against multinational corporations focused on profits.

In the hours before the meeting, White House officials said Biden was coming into the talks bolstered by signs the US economy is in a stronger position than China’s, and that the US is building stronger alliances throughout the Pacific.

The US president, speaking at a campaign fundraiser on Tuesday evening, pointed to his upcoming meeting as an example of how “reestablished American leadership in the world is taking hold.” As for China, the president told donors, it has ”real problems.”

The International Monetary Fund recently cut growth forecasts for China, predicting economic growth of 5% this year and 4.2% in 2024, down slightly from previous forecasts. Last month, Beijing released economic data that showed prices falling due to slack demand from consumers and businesses.

Biden, meanwhile, has taken pride in proving wrong a large swath of economists who predicted that millions of layoffs and a recession might be needed to bring down inflation. The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices rose at an annual pace of 3.2% annually, down from a June 2022 peak of 9.1%. Meanwhile, employers keep hiring and the unemployment rate has held below 4% for nearly two years.

Xi, after his meeting with Biden on Wednesday, will address American business executives at a $2,000-per-plate dinner that will be a rare opportunity for US business leaders to hear directly from the Chinese leader as they seek clarification on Beijing’s expanding security rules that may choke foreign investment.

Foreign companies operating in China say tensions with Washington over technology, trade and other issues and uncertainty over Chinese policies are damaging the business environment and causing some to reassess their plans for investing in the giant market.

A senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters ahead of the meeting said one big reason why Xi decided to make the trip to the US was to send the message to American CEOs that China was still a good place to invest. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that during a recent visit to Beijing, he and other lawmakers made the case directly to Xi that he could bolster China’s reputation in the US and around the globe by taking action to stop the flow of chemicals used to produce fentanyl.

“It is reported he’s very worried about the negative opinion of China in the United States,” Schumer said. “And I told him nothing could help raise China’s image a little bit in the United States more than stopping the flow of fentanyl.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

White House has limited expectations for major changes from Biden-Xi Jinping meeting at APEC Summit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The anticipated meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is on track for November 15 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, but the White House is not expecting the face-to-face to result in major changes to the relationship between the two nations, according to a person familiar with the planning.

The White House announced late last month that the U.S. and China had come to an agreement in principle for Biden and Xi to speak to each other in person on the sidelines of the summit — the first engagement between the leaders in what’s been a tension-filled year between the world’s two biggest economic powers. But with Biden set to arrive in San Francisco in a week for the summit, exact timing and other logistical details have not yet been formally announced.

The U.S. believes that the two sides will be able to make some modest announcements following their meeting, but the fundamental differences in the relationship will remain unchanged, according to the person, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Jude Blanchette, chair of China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Biden and Xi were looking “to intentionally keep that bar low.”

“What’s going on here is an attempt to have a deep conversation where the two sides directly share their concerns, but more importantly that the meeting unlocks, especially in the Chinese system, space for further engagement in constructive work,” Blanchette said.

There’s been plenty of effort by both sides to lay the groundwork for the expected San Francisco meeting.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to meet Thursday and Friday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco before finance ministers of the APEC member nations officially kick off the summit on Saturday.

The meeting between the two senior government officials comes after Biden spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the White House for about an hour late last month when Beijing’s top diplomat came to Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Xi similarly met with Blinken in June when the secretary of state travelled to Beijing for talks with Wang.

Yellen last met with her counterpart He during a July visit to Beijing, when she urged Chinese government officials to cooperate on climate change and other global challenges and not to let sharp disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.

Biden and Xi last met nearly a year ago on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, a nearly three-hour meeting in which Biden objected directly to China’s “ coercive and increasingly aggressive actions” toward Taiwan and discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other issues.

The already fraught relationship has become only more complicated since that Bali meeting. Differences have sharpened as a result of U.S. export controls on advanced technology; Biden ordering the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon after it traversed the continental United States; and a stopover in the U.S. by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this year, among other issues.

Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Xi Jinping steps up economic aid with new debt issuance, PBOC visit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped up support for the world’s second-biggest economy, issuing additional sovereign debt, raising the budget deficit ratio and even making an unprecedented visit to the central bank.

The nation’s legislature approved a plan to raise the fiscal deficit ratio for 2023 to about 3.8% of gross domestic product, the official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday — well above the 3% set in March which the government has generally considered a limit for the nation. The plan includes issuing additional sovereign debt worth 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in the fourth quarter to support disaster relief and construction.

China has rarely adjusted the budget mid-year, having previously done so in periods including 2008, in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake and in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

“The additional fiscal support approved today is the intervention we had been expecting and that was needed to prevent an abrupt fiscal tightening in China in the closing weeks of the year,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd.

The budget changes came during a flurry of announcements from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Communist Party-controlled parliament that oversees government borrowing.

The legislature on Tuesday wrapped a days-long meeting where it also ousted Li Shangfu as defense minister two months after he disappeared from public view, and stripped former foreign minister Qin Gang of his remaining role as State Councilor. Adding to the series of high-profile reshuffles, the Standing Committee named Lan Fo’an as finance minister to replace Liu Kun, a widely expected move.

The budget revision underlined concerns among top leadership about the economy’s outlook into next year and the government’s increased focus on shoring up the economy and financial markets. Earlier in the day, Xi himself made his first known visit to the nation’s central bank since he became Chinese president a decade ago.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Chinese policymakers were considering raising this year’s budget deficit and issuing additional sovereign debt, part of a push to help the nation’s reach an official government growth goal of about 5% for 2023. Citigroup Inc. economists at the time said a move beyond the usual debt-to-GDP target “could show a greater sense of urgency of the policymakers” as they push to reach that growth goal.

Since then, stronger-than-expected data for the third quarter has led authorities to say they are “very confident” in the economy’s ability to hit that target this year. Several challenges are likely to persist into 2024 though, including problems stemming from ongoing property market turmoil and deflationary pressures. Economists expect growth to slow to 4.5% next year.

“Relevant authorities should make preparations for the sovereign bond issuance and projects in an active and orderly manner to ensure every penny is managed and used appropriately,” said Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee.

The 1 trillion yuan worth of special bond issuance to fund post-disaster reconstruction amounts to additional fiscal stimulus of about 0.8% of GDP, according to Duncan Wrigley, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics Ltd. He said the aim is to prop up China’s recovery going into 2024 against headwinds from falling property construction and exports.

Financing infrastructure investment through sovereign bond issuance may also reflect a shift in policy thinking by putting more of the fiscal burden on the central government, rather than local authorities who are running out of room to leverage up. The central govt will transfer funds from the additional borrowing to local authorities to use in projects this year and next, according to Tuesday’s announcement.

Legislators also renewed through 2027 an authorization for the State Council, China’s cabinet, to front-load some of next year’s local bond quota. Zhao urged for an acceleration in the issuance new local government notes and the use of the funds raised.

Beijing has shown increasing resolve to aid local governments with fiscal problems: Last month, it kicked off a program to allow struggling regional authorities to swap high-interest off-balance-sheet borrowing for lower-interest bonds.

Concerns also remain within the nation’s beleaguered private sector, leading authorities to take measures to help remove barriers for them. The State Council, China’s cabinet, is asking the public to help find cases where government agencies are imposing arbitrary fines or favoring state-owned enterprises over private ones, Caixin Global reported Tuesday.

Separately, Xi reiterated support for the private sector in a letter to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce that called for called for rallying private entrepreneurs around the Party more closely, according to the People’s Daily.

In a report to the Standing Committee over the weekend, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng vowed to make policy “more” targeted and forceful. Pan also underscored a longer-term view on the economy while indicating easing is still on the cards, saying that policy would make good counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China’s Xi Jinping offers to help Sri Lanka; buy more of its exports

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China is willing to offer assistance to Sri Lanka without political conditions and buy more of its exports, President Xi Jinping told his Sri Lankan counterpart on Friday in Beijing, state media said.

The assurances came a week after the crisis-hit island nation said it had reached agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China on $4.2 billion of debt, a fraction of the roughly $7 billion it owes Chinese lenders, both bilateral and commercial.

“The two sides should make every effort to promote Colombo port city and Hambantota,” Xi told Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a summary of their meeting showed, referring to major projects China has backed in its ‘Belt and Road’ effort.

Wickremesinghe was in the Chinese capital for the Belt and Road Forum that ended on Wednesday as well as talks on restructuring debt.

“China is willing to continue to provide assistance to Sri Lanka without attaching political conditions, to help it cope with the difficulties it faces,” Xi added.

Last May Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt as dollar reserves fell to a point where it was unable to pay for essential imports such as fuel and medicine.

“China is willing to expand the import of Sri Lanka’s … products and will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest,” Xi said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Extramarital affair leading to childbirth’: Here’s why Xi booted ex-foreign minister Qin Gang

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping ousted former foreign minister Qin Gang from his role due to an alleged extramarital affair, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The Communist Party of China (CPC) probed the matter and found that the affair took place when he was serving as Chinese ambassador to the US. The Chinese foreign ministry declined to address the matter. Qin’s ouster shocked many because he was close to Xi Jinping. Before he was removed from his role in July, there were speculations regarding his sudden absence from public view for over a month.

The CPC probe said Qin was dismissed due to “lifestyle issues” – a term, according to the WSJ and CNN, China uses to refer to sexual misconduct.

The probe revealed that Qin had “engaged in an extramarital affair that led to the birth of a child in the US”, the WSJ report said.

The names of the woman and child were not disclosed to officials.

The WSJ report said the former foreign minister is cooperating in the ongoing probe. The probe focuses on any actions Qin may have taken to hurt China’s national security.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was unaware of these reports. Qin was replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi but remains listed as one of the five state councillors.

Xi Jinping has renewed his focus on national security and has taken steps to bolster China’s counter-espionage and intelligence gathering apparatuses this summer, CNN reported.

Qin served as Chinese envoy to the US from July 2021 until early 2023 and worked to restore US-China communication where he also met with counterpart Antony Blinken in June.

He is not the only high-profile Chinese personnel to be removed from major roles. A report by AFP said Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu is also facing a probe. Xi Jinping also removed Li Yuchao, the former commander, and now ex-commissar Xu Zhongbo, tasked to head the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force.

There are no updates on what happened or why Li Yuchao, the former commander, and now ex-commissar Xu Zhongbo were removed from their roles.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tough two days for Chinese Premier Li at G20 summit as India hogs’ limelight

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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On a difficult mission deputing for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit, Premier Li Qiang had tough two days in New Delhi endorsing the joint declaration stated to be the biggest success for the host India which successfully navigated through the differences of China and Russia especially over Ukraine.

Li also had a difficult meeting with some of the Western leaders on the sidelines, especially Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has signalled Italy’s resolve to quit China’s famed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for its failure to bring the expected results to Rome.

Also, India hogged the limelight as the African Union has been admitted as a permanent member of the G20 at the New Delhi summit after a successful diplomatic campaign by India in the run-up to the summit.

China over the years made big inroads in Africa with big-ticket infrastructure investments under President Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which also drew criticism for its debt sustainability, especially of smaller countries.

On Sunday, Li had a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who told him of London’s concern about China’s interference in democracy in the UK following the arrest of a parliamentary researcher for spying.

Li for his part told Sunak that both sides should properly handle differences, uphold the spirit of inclusiveness and mutual learning, and respect each other’s core interests and major concerns.

Li urged the United Kingdom to oppose politicising economics and trade, and strive to build an open world economy, the official media here reported.

Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted analysts as saying that India and the US made the best out of the inexplicable absence of Xi, who is the most powerful leader of China after CPC founder Mao Zedong.

The two countries “promoted US-led multilateral lending to counter China’s infrastructure diplomacy, went on a charm offensive with developing nations and inserted some minimal language into the communique that indirectly condemned Chinese ally Russia over its Ukraine invasion”, the Post summed up the outcome of the New Delhi G20 summit.

Both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit.

While there’s been “a lot of analysis about who is or isn’t in Delhi for this summit and why or why not that may be, the United States is focused on the fact that President (Joe) Biden is here and rolling up his sleeves with the other G20 countries and partners to produce real results,” said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser on Saturday in New Delhi.

“It’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain why a leader would or would not participate,” he told the Post.

Biden spoke of Xi’s absence: “It would be nice to have him here but the summit is going well.” Besides issuing the joint statement, which was previously speculated to be the most difficult, the assembled leaders announced a memorandum of understanding to establish the “India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor”, a multinational rail and ports deal linking the three regions.

“This comes as the Biden administration tries to counter Xi’s massive signature BRI by touting Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries,” the Post report said.

“This is a big deal. This is a real big deal,” said Biden in announcing the pact, aimed at promoting clean energy and better communities. “As we work to address infrastructure gaps across low- and middle-income countries, we need to maximise the impacts of our investments.”

On Saturday, Li had a difficult meeting with Meloni whose government has openly expressed disenchantment with the BRI.

The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani who visited Beijing on September 5 has spoken critically about the BRI, saying it “did not bring the results we expected” and many Italian parties were against Italy’s participation.

This comes ahead of China’s plans to hold the third conference of BRI in Beijing next month. If Italy pulls out, it will be regarded as an embarrassment for Xi’s multi-billion-dollar pet project which also drew criticism about its debt sustainability, especially of smaller countries.

Also, much to the disquiet of China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced plans to launch the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor which includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

State-run Global Times on Sunday quoted experts stating that the true purpose of the Biden administration is trying to “isolate China” in the Middle East, a region where Chinese cooperation with the region has constantly gained momentum in recent years.

Zhou Rong, a senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the US lacks both the genuine intention and the capability to follow through on its pledge to build up the transportation network in the Middle East.

On the concluding day of the G20 summit, while addressing the third session of the G20 summit on Sunday, Li spoke of the need to establish more practical cooperation mechanisms, take concrete actions, and support developing countries in better-addressing development challenges such as poverty reduction, fundraising, climate change, food and energy security.

The G20 members should play an exemplary role, start with specific matters and strive to do well in the present, Li said.

Noting that the most urgent issue at present is development, Li pointed out that the G20 members should place the issue of development at the centre of macro-policy coordination.

Li stressed the need to establish more practical cooperation mechanisms, take concrete actions, and support developing countries in better-addressing development challenges such as poverty reduction, fundraising, climate change, food and energy security.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

G20 Summit 2023 | China questions why US should get first shot at presidency again

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China has raised objections to the US hosting the Group of 20 nations in 2026 as already announced by President Joe Biden’s administration, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

G20 members rotate their presidency of the group, including the annual summit of world leaders, and the US has said it will take it on after India, Brazil and South Africa complete their respective yearlong stints.

China’s objection — backed by Russia, according to one of the people — is mostly symbolic as it’s unlikely the decision will be reversed. The people asked not to be named since the discussions on the sidelines of the current G20 in India are private.

The Chinese move was first reported by the Financial Times.

Beijing asked that its displeasure be recorded, according to the people, who didn’t know the reasons for China’s objections. However, by the end of 2025, all members will have hosted at least one summit and the point reached where the rotation begins again. The US hosted the first G20 in Washington in 2008.

Attempts to upset that convention reflect China’s standoff with the US over issues from Taiwan to technology export controls. Neither Chinese leader Xi Jinping nor Russian President Vladimir Putin are attending the G20 in New Delhi.

The G20 is divided into regional sub-groups, whose members decide who will host the summit. The US is in a group with Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi earlier on Saturday, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer pointed out that India, Brazil and South Africa — “the three democratic members of the BRICS” group that also includes China and Russia — are the current and next two chairs of the G20.

“They are committed to the G-20 success, and so is the United States. We will host after those three,” Finer said. “And if China is not, that’s unfortunate for everyone, but much more unfortunate, we believe, for China.”

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3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

G20 summit 2023: It is for China to explain Xi Jinping’s absence, says US official

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Only China can explain the reason for the absence of President Xi Jinping from the annual G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, a US official said on Saturday.

The summit had been seen as affording a venue for a possible meeting between Xi and US President Joe Biden following months of efforts by the two world powers to mend ties frayed by trade and geopolitical tensions.

“It’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain” why its leader “would or would not — participate”, Jon Finer, the US deputy national security adviser, told reporters in New Delhi.

Although the United States was often called upon to explain the actions of the Chinese government, that was not its role, he said, adding that it was “unfortunate” if China was not committed to the success of the bloc.

“Some have speculated China’s absence indicates that it is giving up on the G20, building an alternative world order, that it will privilege groupings like the BRICS,” Finer said.

Premier Li Qiang is leading China’s delegation in the Indian capital. Also absent from the summit is President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which is being represented instead by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Biden arrived on Friday for the summit.

Last Sunday, reacting to news that Xi would not attend the G20 summit, Biden said he was “disappointed” but would “get to see him”.

India, the chair of the summit, along with the next two, Brazil and South Africa, as well as the United States, were committed to its success, Finer added.

“If China does not, that’s unfortunate for everyone,” he added. “But much more unfortunate, we believe, for China.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Joe Biden ‘disappointed’ If Xi Jinping plans to skip G20 Summit in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden said he was disappointed about reports his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, plans to skip the G-20 summit in New Delhi this week.
“I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him,” Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday when asked about indications Xi will not join the leaders’ summit.

Biden didn’t say where he might next meet with the Chinese president. If Xi doesn’t travel to Delhi, he and Biden may have an opportunity to meet in November, when the US hosts the APEC conference in San Francisco.

Xi is not planning to travel to the Indian capital for the summit, according to officials familiar with preparations for the meeting who requested anonymity to speak about the planning. The decision comes amid mounting tensions between China and India and is likely to further chill their relations.

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the summit in Xi’s place, according to a person familiar, while another said it would be another yet-to-be-named government official.

Biden and Xi last spoke on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November, but any progress was derailed when an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed the US.

The two countries have fundamental disagreements over a range of issues from Taiwan, fueled in part by US lawmakers visiting the island and a trip by Taiwan’s president to the US, to Biden’s export bans on semiconductor technology, reports about Chinese surveillance from Cuba, and the balloon incident.

A number of high-level Biden administration officials have traveled to China in recent months, seeking to improve ties, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, climate envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The US had expectations that the G-20 meet in India could be the next step to thaw the relationship with China.

Biden said last week he “hopes” that Xi would attend the summit.

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3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow