Roving Periscope: Putin to skip; Biden, Xi meeting at G20 Summit in Indonesia next week
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Nearly nine months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid reports he could be assassinated, President Vladimir Putin will skip the next week’s G-20 meeting in Indonesia, but the US President is all set to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told journalists on Friday that President Xi Jinping will meet Joe Biden and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Bali, Indonesia, between November 14 and 17, besides other leaders.
President Biden might discuss the Taiwan and Ukraine issues with Xi Jinping.
At the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the 17th G20 Summit. At the Summit’s closing session, President Widodo will symbolically hand over the G20 Presidency to PM Modi. India will host the 18th G20 Summit in 2023 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Bali, Indonesia, from November 14 to 16 to attend the 17th G20 Summit at the invitation of the President of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Friday.
In their first in-person talks since President Xi Jinping secured a historic third five-year term for himself in October, he will meet his US counterpart. The two met prior to Biden taking office in January 2021 and have spoken by phone several times since then, but the Covid-19 pandemic and Xi’s subsequent aversion to foreign travel prevented them from meeting in person.
After the G20 Summit, Xi Jinping will travel to Thailand from November 17 to 19 to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Zhao confirmed.
The White House has already said Biden will meet Xi on November 14, when the “leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication”, as well as how to “responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align.”
The US and China have a massive investment and trade relationship, amid cold peace and trade war, and are also challenging each other’s military and diplomatic influence, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. They face a potential flash point over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, a close ally of the US that Xi has made clear he believes should be under Beijing’s control and ordered the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be prepared.
On Wednesday, Biden said he already made clear to Xi that he is “looking for competition, not conflict,” adding they will discuss Taiwan, but that the US stance on the island “has not changed at all.”
During the 17th Summit, the world leaders will deliberate extensively upon key issues of global concern under the Summit theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger.”
They will hold three working sessions as part of the G-20 Summit Agenda, on food and energy security; health; and digital transformation, the media reported.
India will formally assume the G20 Presidency for a year on December 1, 2022. On the sidelines of the Summit, PM Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts, and address and interact with the Indian community in Bali.
Earlier this week, PM Modi unveiled the logo, theme, and website of India’s G20 Presidency via video conferencing. Guided by his vision, India’s foreign policy has been evolving to undertake leadership roles on the global stage.
The G20 Presidency offers a unique opportunity for India to contribute to the global agenda on pressing issues of international importance. The logo, theme, and website of India’s G20 Presidency reflect New Delhi’s message and overarching priorities to the world.
G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, representing around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.
During the G20 Presidency next year, India will host about 200 meetings in 32 different sectors in multiple locations across the country. The event will be one of the highest-profile international gatherings to be hosted by India.
