Reasons Xi’s not coming probably include not wanting to meet Biden to gathering domestic economic troubles
That Xi Jinping won’t be travelling to New Delhi for the G20 summit won’t make any material difference to the event itself. But the Chinese know this. Xi’s no-show must be read politically. First, it is quite possible that Xi did not want to come faceto-face with US President Joe Biden who will be attending the summit. US-China relations have taken a rocky turn as Washington is no longer giving Beijing a free pass on trade, technology and geopolitical issues such as Taiwan. Plus, China and Russia have also hardened their position on Ukraine since the last G20 summit in Bali. Therefore, Xi perhaps wanted to avoid a meeting with his Western counterparts under these circumstances.
Second, Xi is also in a spot of domestic bother. The Chinese economy is sputtering and Beijing is faced with a growing property market crisis. Last week, one of China’s largest property developers, Country Garden, reported a record loss of $7 billion for the first half of this year. There are fears that the property crisis will ripple out to the larger economy. If that happens, it will present a huge challenge for Xi and his political agenda of recentralising power in the Chinese Communist Party. Thus, travelling abroad at this sensitive juncture may not have suited him.
Finally, it is also clear that India-China ties are likely to remain in cold storage for the foreseeable future. The strategic interests of the two countries, never similar, have diverged dramatically over the last few years. China last week issued its 2023 standard map that reiterated its claims over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, days after Xi and Modi agreed at the Brics summit to expedite the troop disengagement process in eastern Ladakh. Similarly, China has consistently downplayed the 2020 Galwan clashes, but showed a clip from the skirmishes at the 20th CCP Congress last year. Beijing, as of now, isn’t simply interested in making any goodwill gesture. So, not coming to a G20 summit New Delhi is heavily invested in suits Beijing just fine.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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