China's Xi Jinping likely to skip upcoming G20 meet in New Delhi

China's President Xi Jinping is likely to skip the upcoming G20 meet in Delhi on September 9 and 10. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is projected to attend the G20 meeting, according to a Reuters report.

The development comes at the heels of China releasing a map that showed the region of Aksai Chin and the state of Arunachal Pradesh as a part of the country. The map, which showed Taiwan and areas as part of its official territory, sparked outrage across the globe. 

Also, in the meanwhile, amid British MPs criticising the UK's approach to China, a top UK diplomat James Cleverly visited China and met with Vice President Han Zheng. The upcoming G20 summit was seen as an opportunity for Xi Jinping to engage with American President Joe Biden.

Relations between the US and China have been strained in recent years; so have relations between India and China. Xi last met Biden at the G20 summit in Bali, which was held in November. Indian PM Narendra Modi and Xi had met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa in August 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also said that he wouldn't be attending the G20 summit in person, but, sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as his representative instead. Putin instead, will be attending the Belt and Road Forum in October in China. 

This will be Putin's first trip abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Putin also skipped the BRICS summit in South Africa after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest in March 2023 over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Moscow in March 2023.

Other world leaders who would attend the G20 in person include UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian PM Albanese, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.