- By Anushka Vats
- Wed, 06 Sep 2023 08:59 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Following Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to skip the G20 Summit 2023 that will be taking place in New Delhi from September 8 to 10, a top US official has said that if Beijing wants to come in and be a "spoiler", that option is available to it.
The remark was made by US National Security Advisor Sullivan while responding to a question at a White House news conference on Tuesday on the impact of India-China border tensions on the G20 Summit.
"As far as the question of tensions between India and China affecting the (G20) summit - really that's up to China. If China wants to come in and play the role of spoiler, of course, that option is available to them," he said.
"What I think the Chair, India, will encourage them to do what we, the United States and every other member, virtually every other member of the G20 will do, is encourage them to come in, in a constructive way on climate, on multilateral development, bank reform, on debt relief, on technology and set aside the geopolitical questions and really focus on problem-solving and delivering for the developing countries," he further added, as quoted by the news agency PTI.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced that Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit, ending all the speculations around Chinese President Xi Jinping's participation in the mega meet.
Quoting foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, the statement read, "At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India, on September 9 and 10."
However, no reason was given in the statement about Xi's absence from the summit.
The Chinese President has made few overseas trips since China abruptly dropped its Covid restrictions. He, however, attended the BRICS Summit in South Africa last week.
Several G20 ministerial meetings in India ahead of the summit have been contentious as Russia and China together opposed joint statements which included paragraphs condemning Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine last year, according to Reuters.
Earlier on Sunday, US President Joe Biden said that he is "disappointed" by reports that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would be skipping this week’s G20 summit in India, reported The Hill.
"I am disappointed, but I am going to see him," Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Del., when asked about Xi not attending the G20 summit, according to The Hill, a US political website.
(With inputs from agency)
