US Vice President Joe Biden expressed disappointment at news that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will not attend this week’s G20 summit in New Delhi.
When questioned about hints that Xi won’t attend the leaders’ summit, Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday, “I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him.
The location of their potential following meeting was not disclosed by Biden. If Xi chooses not to go to Delhi, he and Biden might meet when the US hosts the APEC summit in San Francisco in November.
Xi is not planning to travel to India 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.
According to a source acquainted with the situation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the conference in place of Xi, while a second source claimed it would be a different unnamed government figure.
When Biden and Xi last spoke, it was in November on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia. However, their conversation was cut short when an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon allegedly flew over the US.
The two nations have deep-seated differences on a number of issues, ranging from Taiwan—which was exacerbated in part by US lawmakers’ visits to the island and the president of Taiwan’s visit to the country—to Biden’s export restrictions on semiconductor technology, allegations of Chinese spying from Cuba, and the balloon incident.
