Chinese President not to attend G20

Chinese Prime Minister Li Chiang will attend the G-20global economic and financial co-operation summit in place of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily press conference in Beijing.

Stating that they see the G20 as an important forum for global economic and financial cooperation, Mao said that Premier Li Chiang will head the Chinese delegation at the summit.

FIRST PRESIDENT

Xi will be the first Chinese president not to attend the meetings in person since 2008 when the G20 leaders' summits became a regular annual event.

"We hope that the G20 will build consensus for economic recovery and sustainable growth at a time when pressures are being felt in the world economy and new challenges to development are emerging, and deliver a message of shared prosperity and development," Ning said.

Reports that Xi would not attend the summit had previously appeared in the Western and Indian media. According to reports citing diplomatic sources involved in the organization of the summit, the Chinese delegation had voiced its objections to a summit consensus on a wide range of issues from the war in Ukraine to the sharing of economic burden between developed and developing countries, from climate change to health.

Source: Anadolu Agency