As President Joe Biden prepares to head to New Delhi for this year’s Group of 20 summit – a consequential meeting of the world’s largest economies – a repeat of a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the two largest economies looks increasingly unlikely. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden is preparing to head to New Delhi to attend the Group of 20 summit on Sept. 9-10

  • The White House says the president will use the sidelines of the gathering to discuss climate change, poverty and Russia’s invasion Ukraine with other world leaders

  • China’s foreign ministry said Premier Li Qiang will travel to India for the summit, indicating China’s President Xi Jinping will sit it out
  • Biden has insisted he will meet with Xi amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China; the U.S. president said he was "disappointed" Xi was unlikely to attend the summit this week 

The White House says the president will use the sidelines of the gathering to discuss climate change, poverty and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with other world leaders. 

But as Biden arrives in India, one country is signaling its powerful leader – who Biden had hoped to meet with – will not be there. 

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry said Premier Li Qiang will travel to India for the Sept. 9-10 summit, indicating China’s President Xi Jinping will sit it out for the first time since the summit’s initial meeting in 2008. 

Amid recently-heightened tensions between the U.S. and China and through several stark comments from the U.S. president on the country and its leader, Biden has continued to insist he will meet with Xi. 

The pair last met face-to-face during the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022. 

Biden on Sunday told reporters he is “disappointed” about the reports Xi is likely to skip the gathering but added he is “going to get to see him” without explaining when or where such a meeting would take place. 

The Biden administration throughout recent months has sent several high-level officials and America’s top diplomat to the country in an attempt to improve relations. 

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo just wrapped up a visit last week. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry made the trip to China last month. 

And in a closely-watched visit in June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Xi and other senior Chinese officials – but left Beijing without the Biden administration’s biggest ask: better communications between their militaries.

Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of trying to stifle China’s development – something the U.S. has forcefully pushed back on, arguing it is pursuing competition while ensuring it doesn’t boil over into conflict. The two countries have also seen relations strained over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Taiwan. 

In June, Biden referred to Xi as a “dictator” at a fundraising reception – a move that drew swift rebuke from China. The president insisted he would still meet with the country’s leader and dismissed any potential negative consequences of the comment. 

At a separate fundraising event last month, the U.S. president called China’s economy a “ticking time bomb” amid troubling economic signs in the country. 

China and India – the summit’s host country this year – have also seen tensions boil over their border. 

The leaders of Canada, the U.K., Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and more are expected to attend.