Chinese President Xi Jinping has canceled his participation in the G20 forum in South Africa of the world's leading economies. Previously, his counterparts from the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, also announced that they would not attend, DPA reported.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Premier Li Keqiang will represent Beijing at the forum.
This means that for the first time since the Group was founded, the presidents of the three most powerful G20 countries – The United States, Russia and China will not attend its annual summit.
Russia will be represented by Deputy Chief of Staff Maxim Oreshkin.
Trump had planned to be represented by Vice President J.D. Vance, but recently threatened to boycott the forum because he accuses South Africa of killing white farmers and illegally confiscating their land. He has provided no evidence for this.
The G-20 is made up of 19 countries, plus the European Union and the African Union. Members include major Western democracies such as the United States, Germany and Britain, but also authoritarian states such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to attend the two-day meeting, scheduled for November 22-23.