Xi Joins Trump In Skipping G-20 Summit In Blow To South Africa
Xi’s decision means the summit, created to address global economic issues and typically attended by heads of state, will lack the leaders of the world’s two largest economies and fellow member Russia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not join the Group of 20 summit later this month, a move that will be a blow to host South Africa that’s already facing a boycott from US President Donald Trump.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday that Premier Li Qiang would represent the Asian nation at the leaders’ summit, which kicks off in Johannesburg on Nov. 22. The statement didn’t explain why Xi, who attended the event last year, will be absent this time.
Xi’s decision means the summit, created to address global economic issues and typically attended by heads of state, will lack the leaders of the world’s two largest economies and fellow member Russia. Trump earlier said no US officials would attend, following his attacks on South Africa for allegedly mistreating White Afrikaners. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s travel remains curtailed by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
The Chinese leader has pulled back extensively on international travel since the pandemic except for major summits packed with power meetings on the sidelines, like the one he had with Trump in South Korea last month before the APEC summit.
He instead has carried out what Beijing calls “home-court diplomacy.” He hosted Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this year, as the Chinese leader seeks closer ties with regional nations amid intensifying rivalry with the US. Xi visited South Africa in 2023 for the BRICS summit, and hosted African leaders in Beijing last year.
Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Xi’s absence at the G-20 meeting doesn’t indicate a downgrade in the importance of the event to Beijing.
“I don’t see any drop off in their view that those global governance institutions are important avenues for China to communicate its message,” he said.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular briefing on Thursday that the Johannesburg gathering “carries significant historical importance” as it’s the first G-20 summit on the African continent and expressed support for South Africa as the chair.
Li, China’s No. 2 official, has represented Xi at some major international events in recent years. He filled in for his boss at the G-20 summit in India in 2023 and a gathering of BRICS leaders in Brazil in July.
