Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping this week’s summit.
Instead, Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the two-day gathering.
Here, Al Jazeera’s Bays explains what Xi’s absence means.
“I think it is pretty significant that he is not coming. The G20 has met at summit level – in other words at a leader level, as they are the ones at the top of the political mountain – since 2008,” Bays said.
“Other leaders have skipped the gathering, but the Chinese president has always attended. Until now.
“Xi was a central figure at the BRICS summit last month – and many will see this as a symbol of how the world is, right now, more divided than ever,” he added.
Bays also said in New Delhi there would have been an opportunity for Xi and United States President Joe Biden to “meet, speak, and build trust”.
“Now that won’t happen, their next possible meeting will be when the US hosts the APEC summit in San Francisco in November. But China has not yet given any indication whether Xi will attend,” he explained.
Follow us on Facebook : https://web.facebook.com/wacnews
To receive the latest news on your phone using the Telegram application, click here: https://t.me/+KMdLTc0qS6ZkMGI0
Send us a message by Whatsapp : Whatsapp +44 7476844931
