Without Putin or Xi: How the absence of Russia and China will affect the next G20 summit

Representatives of the 20 countries with the most developed economies in the world will meet in India this weekend for a g20 summit which will be marked by the absence of two of the main figures of the group: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

READ ALSO: India: Deploy ‘let’s scare’ to scare primates away from G20 summit

Both Moscow and Beijing confirmed in recent days that their presidents would not participate in the Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in New Delhi between September 9 and 10.

In Putin’s case, his place will be taken by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, while Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will replace Xi.

Although neither of the two governments has preferred to delve into details about the motivations behind the absences, it is expected that these would respond to the tension they are currently experiencing with the West.

The war in Ukraine, the military escalation on the border between India and China, Western sanctions against Russia, pressures for debt restructuring and influence over the Indo-Pacific are some of the international conflicts that will set the tone for the multilateral appointment.

Since February 2022, when he launched a military operation to invade Ukraine, Putin’s government has become increasingly isolated from the West. In addition, in March the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president for alleged war crimes.

This has caused Putin, who had attended all such summits since coming to power at the beginning of this century, to be absent from the two G20 meetings organized since the start of the war.

As for the Chinese case, it marks the first absence of Xi Jinping from this type of event since he came to power in 2013, recalling that in 2020 and 2021 he only participated virtually due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID pandemic. -19.

Like Russia, China also maintains a tense relationship with the West, mainly with the United States in the face of the worsening situation on the island of Taiwan and the American reports on the sighting of spy balloons sent by Beijing.

On the other hand, relations between China and India are at their coldest point in decades after they staged a border clash in June 2020 in the Western Himalayas.

The confrontation, according to New Delhi, left some 20 soldiers dead and 76 wounded, while Beijing puts the victims at 4 deaths and one wounded.

Those who have confirmed their presence are the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and France. In the case of Joe Biden, the White House announced that he will advocate a reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

French leader Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, will seek to speak about the risks of fragmentation in the world stemming mainly from the conflict in Ukraine.

For the British Rishi Sunak, on the other hand, it will be a special trip as it will be the first official visit he has made to the land of his ancestors. While German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the importance of the summit despite the absences.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, also spoke, who confessed that he was calm that the positions of the missing leaders will be reflected by the representatives they send in their place.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also confirmed their attendance.

The participation of the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, the presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council, Charles Michel, is still on hold but everything indicates that they will attend the meeting.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.