Xi Jinping Considers Attending G20 Virtually... Will US-China Summit in October Be Canceled?

SCMP "China Side: No Final Decision Yet"
Could Be the First Year Without a Summit Since US President's Inauguration

In December 2013, Xi Jinping, President of China, met and greeted Joe Biden, then Vice President of the United States, who was visiting China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] There is an analysis that Chinese President Xi Jinping is considering attending the upcoming G20 summit in October this year via video conference. As a result, the first summit meeting between President Joe Biden of the United States and Xi is expected to be further delayed.

On the 24th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing anonymous sources, that the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between President Xi and U.S. President Biden at the G20 summit to be held in Rome, Italy, on October 30-31 is decreasing.

SCMP interpreted, "Although a final decision has not yet been made, the Chinese leadership is leaning toward having President Xi participate in the summit via video conference instead of traveling to Rome," adding, "This means there will be no opportunity for a first face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders at the G20 summit."

SCMP analyzed that if President Xi does not go to Rome, it is ostensibly due to concerns about COVID-19, but at the same time, it suggests a lack of preparation for a new beginning in the deadlocked U.S.-China relationship.

The newspaper explained, "If President Xi and President Biden, who took office on January 20, do not meet in Rome in October, it would be the latest first meeting between a new U.S. president and a Chinese leader since 1997."

It added, "This could be the first case since 1993 where a summit meeting between a new U.S. president and a Chinese leader does not take place in the first year of the presidency."

Previously, former U.S. President Bill Clinton met former Chinese President Jiang Zemin face-to-face at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Seattle in November 1993, just 10 months after taking office.

SCMP claimed, "Although President Biden and President Xi have known each other for a long time, a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the world's two greatest powers remains important and carries highly symbolic significance."

It is reported that there is still a possibility for President Xi to make a last-minute decision to attend in Rome. An anonymous source told SCMP, "The process is still being coordinated, and the possibility of direct attendance is also being considered." Another source emphasized, "China risks missing an opportunity to improve relations with the West and becoming further isolated from the world," adding, "Our leaders need to meet directly."