This comes amid the speculations that President Xi could skip the G20 Summit in New Delhi and instead nominate Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend the event…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden has said that he “hopes” that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attends the G20 Summit in India this month.
This comes amid the speculations that President Xi could skip the G20 Summit in New Delhi and instead nominate Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend the event.
The US President was asked if he is expecting President Xi to attend the G20 Summit, to which he replied, “The answer is I hope he attends the G20 Summit”.
Notably, the G20 was being viewed as a venue where it was expected that President Biden and Xi would meet at the G20 Summit amid escalating trade and geopolitical tensions between the two countries.
Xi last met Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November.
Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that sources familiar with the matter in India and China have revealed that President Xi Jinping is likely to skip the G20 Summit to be held in India next week.
On Xi’s behalf, Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent Beijing at the September 9-10 meeting in New Delhi, as per two Indian officials, one diplomat based in China and one official working for the government of another G20 country.
However, the spokespersons for the Indian and Chinese foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a conversation with Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in which he highlighted India’s concerns at the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh with the two leaders agreeing to direct their relevant officials “to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”.
India and China have been engaged in a border standoff since 2020 due to the actions of the Chinese Army. There has been disengagement from some friction points along LAC in eastern Ladakh.
India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander Level talks earlier this month at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Indian side.
‘US isn’t trying to hold China’s economy back’
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told senior Chinese economic officials in Beijing, United States is not seeking to decouple from China’s economy or hold it back.
“The US-China commercial relationship is one of the most globally consequential, and managing that relationship responsibly is critical to both our nations and indeed to the whole world,” Raimondo told a group of officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, during her second day of meetings in the country.
She added, “And while we will, never of course compromise in protecting our national security, I want to be clear that we do not seek to decouple or to hold China’s economy back”.
Raimondo further emphasized that point a few hours later, during her meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
“President Biden asked me to come here to convey the message that we do not seek to decouple,” she told Li. “We seek to maintain our USD 700 billion commercial relationship with China,” CNN reported.
In response, the Chinese premier said that he hoped the two countries could strengthen communication and maintain the health of US-China economic relations.
“Only through dialogue can we understand each other’s concerns, find common ground and increase the possibility of cooperation,” CNN quoted Li as saying.
“Economic and trade relations are the ballast for Sino-US relations,” he added. “A well-maintained economic and trade relationship is beneficial to both [our] countries and the whole world.”
In reply to Li, Raimondo further stated, “We hope that commercial relationship can provide stability for the overall relationship”. (ANI)
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