Xi will miss Brics summit in Rio as Li Qiang leads China delegation: sources
Chinese President
Xi Jinping will not attend next week's
Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Post learned from multiple sources on Tuesday.
Advertisement
According to officials familiar with the matter, Beijing told the Brazilian government that Xi had a scheduling conflict. Instead, Premier
Li Qiang is expected to lead the Chinese delegation, as he did at the
G20 summit in
India in 2023.
Chinese involved in preparations, they said, cited Xi's having met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva twice in less than a year – first at the G20 summit and state visit to Brasília last November, and again in May during the China-Celac forum in Beijing – as a reason for his absence.
As China's leader, Xi missed a Brics summit in 2023, when he was expected to give a speech at the gathering in
South Africa but at the last minute sent Commerce Minister
Wang Wentao in his place. Beijing offered no official explanation.
During the
coronavirus pandemic , Xi took part in Brics meetings virtually: in 2020, when the summit took place in Russia, and in 2021, when China hosted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's Li Qiang gives ‘Summer Davos' keynote in tense global atmosphere
This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP's journalism by subscribing . Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app Chinese Premier Li Qiang is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as 'Summer Davos' , in the northern port city of Tianjin on Wednesday morning. The world's second-largest economy has largely withstood the tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump in April, but it still faces external challenges. The 90-day trade truce with the United States is set to expire, tensions are still high with the European Union and conflicts rage in the Middle East, exacerbated by the US bombing of Iran nuclear facilities over the weekend. To compensate, Beijing hopes to empower its domestic market while safeguarding its position in global supply chains. Top officials have already stepped up a charm offensive for foreign businesses and investors, and a recently enacted law on the promotion of the private economy is intended to unleash entrepreneurship in the country and help drive its economic growth. Reporting by Ji Siqi, Sylvia Ma, Alice Li and Frank Chen More from our coverage:
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's partnership with Muslim world is redrawing global landscape
As Gaza endures unrelenting Israeli bombardment , the humanitarian toll is staggering: more than 55,000 Palestinians killed and millions displaced. This catastrophe not only evokes moral outrage but also highlights the collapse of the Western-led international order. Advertisement The June 13 Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites under 'Operation Rising Lion' and Iran's swift missile retaliation pushed the region to the edge of a broader war. That risk escalated further on Sunday when the United States launched coordinated strikes on several key Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. What this spiralling confrontation underscores is a sobering reality: the West is no longer capable of imposing stability on its terms. Amid this geopolitical fragmentation, a consequential shift is under way – an alignment between China and the Muslim world. Once seen as unlikely partners, this axis is now grounded in respect, sovereignty and a shared aspiration for a post-Western world order. Egypt , China's engagement with the Muslim world is not impulsive but strategic. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, it has invested heavily in infrastructure and logistics in countries such as Pakistan Iran and Saudi Arabia. Unlike the traditional aid programmes of Western powers, Chinese aid offers an alternative that is appealing to nations scarred by colonial legacies and structural adjustment programmes. A pivotal moment came in 2023 when China helped bring Iran and Saudi Arabia to the table and re-establish diplomatic ties . Where decades of Western diplomacy failed, China's quiet negotiations prevailed. It marked China's rise not only as an economic juggernaut but as a credible stabiliser, particularly in regions where US policy has often deepened instability. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
In a first, Xi will miss Brics summit in Rio as Li Qiang leads China delegation: sources
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend next week's Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, marking his first-ever absence from the gathering of leading emerging economies, the Post learned from multiple sources on Tuesday. According to officials familiar with the matter, Beijing told the Brazilian government that Xi had a scheduling conflict. Instead, Premier Li Qiang is expected to lead the Chinese delegation, as he did at the G20 summit in India in 2023. Chinese involved in preparations, they said, cited Xi's having met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva twice in less than a year – first at the G20 summit and state visit to Brasília last November, and again in May during the China-Celac forum in Beijing – as a reason for his absence. As China's leader, Xi has never missed a Brics summit. In 2023, when Xi was expected to give a speech at the gathering in South Africa , at the last minute he sent Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in his place. Beijing offered no official explanation at the time. Play
