President Xi Jinping will not attend the upcoming G20 Summit in South Africa, with Premier Li Qiang slated to represent China instead.
The G20 Summit, set to be held in Johannesburg from November 22-23, is hosted by South Africa, which has taken on the rotating presidency of the group as the first African nation to lead the forum. President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasized that his country’s chairmanship will focus on advancing Africa’s and the Global South’s development priorities.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian stated that Premier Li will attend the summit at South Africa’s invitation, highlighting Beijing’s support for Pretoria’s leadership and its commitment to upholding multilateralism and an open world economy. The ministry also underscored the ”historic significance” of the summit being held on the African continent for the first time.
The G20 brings together 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union. However, the United States, which is set to assume the chairmanship next, announced last week that no senior officials would attend the meeting in Johannesburg. Washington has accused Pretoria of advancing an ”anti-American” agenda, but Ramaphosa has called the US decision to boycott the summit ”their loss.”
Speculation had previously suggested that the G20 summit could host a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kremlin announced last month that Putin would not attend in person, instead tapping presidential aide Maksim Oresh, to lead the Russian delegation. Moscow has praised South Africa’s presidency as a milestone for the continent and a constructive step toward strengthening multilateral cooperation.