China’s Xi will skip G20 meet hosted by India

Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Pic/AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping is apparently skipping this week's G20 summit in India as bilateral relations remain icy. Instead, Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the September 9-10 gathering, the Foreign Ministry said Monday in a one sentence notice on its website.

Relations between China and India have grown frosty over their disputed border, and three years ago the tensions resulted in a clash in the Ladakh region that killed Indian and Chinese soldiers. It turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.

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Frictions have also risen over trade and India's growing strategic ties with China's main rival - the US. Both India and China have also expelled the other's journalists. Asked why Xi would not be attending the summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning declined to answer.

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