Biden ‘disappointed’ that China’s President Xi will skip G20 summit in India

US President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed disappointment that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would not attend the G20 summit in India this week, as Washington seeks to repair relations with Beijing.

Asked about Xi reportedly not planning to join the gathering in New Delhi, Biden told reporters, “I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him,” without elaborating.

Bilateral ties between the United States and China face a long list of problems, from trade disputes to Taiwan’s future to the expansive Chinese presence in the South China Sea.

The United States has been working to restore a more effective working relationship, sending a series of senior officials to China in recent months despite continuing friction.

On Thursday a senior EU official said that Xi would not be at the G20, represented instead by Premier Li Qiang.

Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rare face-to-face talks at the BRICS group summit in South Africa last month, but tensions also remain high between the Asian giants.

Relations between the world’s two most populous countries have been in deep freeze since a Himalayan border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops in 2020.