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G20
ChinaDiplomacy

G20 summit: China’s President Xi Jinping ‘will not be in Rome’

  • China has not told G20 organisers whether president will attend but Chinese envoys reportedly cited Covid-19 measures as preventing his in-person attendance
  • Speculation surrounds whether Xi will attend COP26 climate conference in Glasgow if he misses the Italy meeting

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has not been out of the country since mid-January 2020, the longest stint of any G20 leader, although he has attended virtual meetings. Photo: DPA
Bloomberg
Chinese diplomats have told officials from the Group of 20 nations that President Xi Jinping does not plan to attend a summit in Italy this month in person, according to four people familiar with the matter.
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The message was conveyed at a meeting of G20 envoys, known as sherpas, in Florence last month. Chinese envoys cited China’s Covid-19 protocols, which can include quarantine mandates for returning travellers, as a reason Xi did not intend to go to Rome, three of the people said.

The people said there had been no communication on the matter since and Italy, which is hosting the G20 this year, had yet to receive an official response either way. Beijing often announces the president’s travel plans at the last minute, and any final decision may not be sent to Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government until closer to the summit, which starts on October 30. 

The Italian government declined to comment. China’s embassies in London and Rome did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Xi has not been out of the country since mid-January 2020, the longest stint of any G20 leader, although he has taken part in virtual meetings, including a gathering of BRICS nations last month, and held dozens of individual calls with counterparts.
The G20 meeting comes at a crucial time for international relations with topics ranging from climate change to Covid-19 vaccine supplies on the agenda and the global economy struggling due to shortages of everything from labour to semiconductors and energy. China’s position is central to many of those issues and Xi’s absence would make reaching substantive agreement more difficult, according to the message conveyed by diplomats.

Summits also provide a chance for leaders to meet one on one on the sidelines, and those bilateral conversations often prove the most fruitful in resolving differences. China and the US remain embroiled in tensions over trade, technology, human rights and Beijing’s strategic assertiveness in Asia, including with Taiwan, that China sees as its territory. 

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