Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

Chinese PM Fills in for His Boss at G20, Still No Explanation From Beijing Why Xi Jinping Was a No Show

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with Chinese Premier Li Qiang ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023. Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP

China did its very best to downplay President Xi Jinping’s absence from the G20 leaders summit in New Delhi over the weekend, sending novice diplomat Premier Li Qiang in his place.

At home, China’s tightly controlled media made no mention of Xi’s absence, nor did the Foreign Ministry provide any hint as to why the President stayed home from both last week’s ASEAN summit in Jakarta and the G20 gathering in India even after he attended the BRICS summit in South Africa earlier this month.

Lead the Conversation on China

Subscribe Today to Get Full Access to The China-Global South Project

Check Out Everything You'll Get With Your Subscription

The China-Global South Daily Brief delivered to your inbox at 6AM Washington time

Full access to exclusive news and analysis from editors based in the Global South

Transcripts of CGSP’s twice-weekly podcasts

Students and teachers with a valid .edu email address are eligible for a 50% discount off monthly or yearly subscriptions. Email us to receive a discount code.

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.