Chinese President Xi Jinping Likely To Skip G20 Summit In Delhi After Fresh Tensions Over Beijing's Map

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip the G20 Summit set to be held between September 9 and 10 in Delhi, reported Reuters. Two Indian officials, one diplomat based in China and one official working for the government of another G20 country said Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the G20 Summit.

This comes after China released its new official "standard map" incorporating disputed areas of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region in its map triggering a political row in India.

India has maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country and China has no claim over the state. 

The G20 summit had been viewed as a venue at which Xi may meet with US President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his attendance, as the two superpowers seek to stabilise relations
soured by a range of trade and geopolitical tensions.

Congress MLA Ninong Ering on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra modi in this connection and appealed to him to raise the issue of "China's aggression" in the scheduled G20 Summit in Delhi where Xi Jinping was supposed to participate. 

Apart from Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 Summit in person. In a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi he conveyed his inability to attend the meeting adding that his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would represent the country on his behalf. 

Putin has not set foot outside Russia after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes in connection to the kidnapping of children during the country's Ukraine invasion. Reportedly, the Russian President will make his first trip to China in October after the issuance of the arrest warrant. 

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will also not be present in the G20 Summit. Andres traditionally sends his ministers to represent Mexico, with the 2020 Riyadh Virtual G20 summit being an exception. This year, Mexico will be represented by Minister of Economy Raquel Buenrostro Sanchez.