ASEAN Summit: China’s PM To Attend, President To Skip

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Indonesia. This comes after he canceled his trip to India. 

Instead, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be attending both of the summits, ASEAN Summit (hosted by Indonesia) and G20 Summit (hosted by India) on behalf of China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that Premier Li Qiang will also be paying an official visit to Indonesia during this time.

China’s Premier Li Qiang will be attending a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from September 5 to 8. 

He will also attend meetings such as the East Asia Summit and a key meeting involving Japan and South Korea. 

The announcement comes amidst speculation that China may send Li to the G20 summit in India on September 9 and 10, as the chances of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending are low.

Li’s attendance at the ASEAN summit is at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is currently the ASEAN chair. 

Li will participate in the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit, and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta. He will also make an official visit to Indonesia.

After the East Asia summit, Li is expected to travel to India for the G20 summit, although there has been no official confirmation from the Indian side regarding China’s participation.

The 43rd ASEAN Summit will take place in Jakarta from September 5-7, 2023. Representatives from 22 countries and 9 international bodies will attend the summit. 

The 22 countries include 11 ASEAN members, Timor Leste, and 9 ASEAN dialogue partners and member countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS). 

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The ASEAN dialogue partners and EAS member countries attending the summit are South Korea, Japan, India, China, Australia, Canada, Russia, and the United States. 

Representatives from international bodies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and United Nations (UN) will also be present. The UN delegation will be led by Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 

During the three-day summit, the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo will lead 12 meetings and is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines. The President will also lead the summit between ASEAN and its dialogue partners. 

On September 6, Indonesian President Widodo will hold six meetings, including the 

• ASEAN-China Summit
• ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK/South Korea) Summit
• ASEAN-Japan Summit
• ASEAN-US Summit
• ASEAN-Canada Summit
• ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit.

On the last day of the summit, the President will lead four meetings with ASEAN and its external partners, including India, Australia, the UN, and members of the East Asia Summit.