Biden not planning to meet Chinese Premier Li at G-20 summit

President Joe Biden does not intend to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the Group of 20 summit this weekend in New Delhi, a White House official said on Thursday night.

The president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, briefed reporters on the summit agenda after the president left Washington on the trip, which will also take him to Vietnam.

“We don’t have a plan for the president to engage with the Chinese premier at this time,” Sullivan said. He had been asked about a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese nationals had gained entry to American military bases, and if that would be brought up in New Delhi.

When asked about a potential meeting Friday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she didn’t have any information to offer.

Early this week, Biden expressed disappointment after it was reported that China’s leader, Xi Jinping, did not plan to attend the summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin also will not attend.

The American president intends to seize on their absence to court nations that they have tried to influence.

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(–With assistance from Lucille Liu)

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