A day after the G20 Summit held at Bali in Indonesia ended, the events at the global meeting continue to dominate headlines.
While US President Joe Biden tweeted a photo of him with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, another incident that hogged the limelight was the video of Chinese President Xi Jinping confronting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Biden's tweet read: "I met with Prime Minister Modi of India and President Widodo of Indonesia to reaffirm our commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for global economic cooperation. In the face of global challenges, our coalition continues to demonstrate strength."
The readout by the President added that he applauded Indonesia’s G20 Presidency and was looking forward to continuing to support the G20’s work under India’s Presidency.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi too had described the conversation between Modi and Biden as a "useful exchange."
The two leaders had shared a warm rapport during the event, the pictures of which had gone viral. While the duo were seen sharing a handshake on the inaugural day after being seated next to each other, the US President was spotted giving Modi a salute when they met during a visit to a mangrove forest in Bali on Wednesday.
Xi's annoyance
On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping was spotted at the event expressing his displeasure to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the "leaking" to the media the details of their meeting.
In the video footage published by Canadian broadcasters, Xi and Trudeau could be seen standing close to each other and conversing via a translator.
"That is not appropriate, and we didn't do it that way," Xi said in Mandarin, smiling. "If there is sincerity, we can communicate well with mutual respect, otherwise the outcome will not be easy to tell."
Xi's rare public display of displeasure came following reports that the Canadian Prime Minister brought up "serious concerns" about alleged espionage and Chinese "interference" in Canadian elections during his meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 on Tuesday.
A translator for Xi could be heard telling Trudeau that "everything we discussed was leaked to the paper(s), that's not appropriate."
However, Trudeau seemed to stand up to the criticisms by answering: "In Canada, we believe in free and open and frank dialogue, and that is what we will continue to have, we will continue to look to work constructively together but there will be things we disagree on."
However, an exasperated Xi cuts him off and says, "Create the conditions, create the conditions, OK?" before smiling, shaking Trudeau's hand and walking off.
Neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor state media has published anything on talks between Xi and Trudeau despite the two holding a 10-minute informal meeting on Tuesday. However, though it did not release an official readout, Canada did confirm the meeting and the topics discussed.
Xi held nine formal bilateral meetings with other heads of state while at the summit.