After Putin, Xi Jinping to skip G20 summit in Delhi

New Delhi: It is almost certain that Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to skip the G20 summit in India next week and Premier Li Qiang is set to represent China at the conclave, people familiar with the development said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi his decision to not attend the summit in-person as he has to focus on the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The Russian president had skipped the Bali summit of G20 in November last year as well.

Many leaders in the past skipped the G20 summits for various reasons and it does not reflect anything about the host country, the people cited above said. In its capacity as the current president of G20, India is hosting the annual summit of the influential grouping in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. In 2021, Chinese President Xi did not travel to Italy to participate in the G20 summit due to China's COVID-19 restrictions.