Why is the Chinese President absent from the G20 summit?

The decision of Chinese President Xi Jinping to miss the G20 summit highlights the tense relations between Beijing and other major powers, and the increasing secrecy at the top of the ruling Communist Party’s pyramid of power, according to what analysts reported to AFP.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that Prime Minister Li Qiang will join the leaders of the world's major economies in New Delhi at the end of the week, confirming that Xi will be absent from the summit.

No justifications were given for Xi's absence, knowing that he has never given up attending the summit since he came to power, except for one time when it was held in Rome in 2021 and he participated at that time via video call due to Covid restrictions.

BRICS summit

His likely absence contrasts sharply with his participation in the BRICS summit of emerging economies, hosted in South Africa last month.

There, Xi was at the forefront as the bloc agreed to join six new members, which the Chinese president described as a “historic” achievement.

Relations with developing countries of the world

The emphasis on relations with developing countries reflects Beijing's efforts to "create an alternative... to the liberal international order that has been dominated by the United States since the end of World War II," according to Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

The reorganization is "China-friendly if not China-centric, while mobilizing and consolidating support in the global South," Tsang told AFP.

He added, "China cannot dominate... the G20, and therefore does not give it priority. I am not saying that Xi is against the G20. All there is is that he does not consider it as important as the BRICS."

His expected absence from the G20 summit this year reduces hopes for a revival of cooperation with Western powers after his attendance, which appeared friendly, albeit carefully arranged, in the last edition of the event hosted by Bali in November.

Tension with India

Experts also believe that the decision may be driven by historical tension with India.

"Xi's abandonment of attending the G20 summit was disappointing, but not surprising," said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

She added, "Chinese-Indian relations have not been smooth since 2020, and China complains that India is using the G20 to support its claims in disputed territories."

A decades-long border dispute has been brewing between Beijing and New Delhi, and bloody confrontations have erupted along the vast border in the Himalayan region in recent years.

China also resents India's membership in the Quad, which includes Australia, Japan, and the United States, and Beijing sees it as an attempt to contain its influence in Asia.