Standing in for the absent heads of China, Russia, Japan and Mexico were lower-level ministers dispatched in their places, a smattering of the less-well-known among some of the globe’s most recognizable leaders.
Still, the decision to forgo one of the world’s foremost diplomatic events only fuels the sense that Xi and Putin have become less concerned with global cooperation as their countries draw international condemnation for cyber attacks, military aggression and human rights abuses. For leaders who have consolidated power dramatically, it was unlikely their underlings at the summits would be authorized to make important decisions alongside heads of state.
Absence of Xi and Putin both helps and hinders Biden
White House officials insist the absence of Putin and Xi at this weekend’s conference is not, in fact, a lost opportunity. Instead, they suggest the void has allowed the United States and European leaders to set the agenda and drive discussion on topics important to them, like climate and combating the global pandemic.
“I think it shows to some extent their own priorities,” said Ambassador Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, of Xi and Putin’s decision to participate only virtually in this weekend’s G-20.
“It’s only an opportunity if you translate it into reality,” Haass added. “Can you get the Europeans, for example, to line up to a serious policy towards China and trade and investment or threatening them with sanctions if they use force against Taiwan? Will the Europeans reduce their dependence on Russian energy? So, we can talk in general about opportunity, but I think there’s real questions about what we can translate into policy and reality.”
Neither Putin and Xi are diplomatic recluses; both regularly speak with foreign counterparts, including a phone call between Biden and Xi last month and a closely watched summit with Putin and Biden in Switzerland in June.
Both were signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, which Biden is looking to restore, and both have participated in climate summits convened this year by the White House. Russia and China have also taken a lead role in communicating with the Taliban after its takeover of Afghanistan following the American withdrawal.
Yet their engagements are often selective and have not prevented them from steering their countries against the international order.
In the week preceding the G-20, Russian warships staged a mock landing in Crimea, the territory in Ukraine annexed by Moscow in 2014, and it was revealed the Russian hackers behind a successful 2020 breach of US federal agencies have in recent months tried to infiltrate US and European government networks.
China, meanwhile, has increased military overflights into Taiwan’s airspace. The island nation’s status and its relationship to the US — always a fraught issue for Beijing’s rulers — are now among the thorniest points of disagreement in the increasingly tense US-China relationship.
Even without Xi at the summit, China has proved an enduring topic of conversation.
“This has been a central topic of conversation, not as some kind of block formation or new Cold War-style engagement, but rather as dealing with a very complex challenge in a clear-eyed and highly coordinated way,” a senior administration official said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said that even if Xi is absent from the diplomatic gatherings, his decisions will play an important role for the future of the globe.
“I think it’s ultimately going to be up to China, as now currently the world’s largest emitter, to decide whether it is going to do the right and important thing for its own people, but also for everyone around the world,” Blinken told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
Blinken added: “Beijing is going to have to decide whether it’s going to live up to its responsibilities starting with its own people who are affected directly by climate change.”
Sideline discussions go missing
In video remarks played at the G-20 on Saturday, both Xi and Putin raised concerns about the global vaccination effort, and each complained their countries’ shots weren’t being recognized by international bodies. They were expected to participate virtually in additional sessions later in the summit, but because they are not attending in person, won’t have the chance to follow up on their concerns with fellow leaders.
Often, the most substantive discussions at international summits happen on the margins of the official plenary sessions, which are carefully scripted and rarely generate unexpected news.
Biden did speak briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during dinner Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the interaction who declined to go into detail.
Early in his presidency, after aides arranged virtual “visits” from world leaders to mimic the import of a White House invite, Biden complained the encounters seemed stilted and lacked the warmth of a face-to-face.
“There is no substitute, as those of you who have covered me for a while know, for a face-to-face dialogue between leaders. None,” Biden said in June after concluded an in-person summit with Putin in Geneva.
Early this summer, the White House had eyed this weekend’s G-20 as a potential venue for Biden’s first in-person meeting with Xi since becoming President, a key opportunity to check in as tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing. In meetings and phone calls, US officials gauged Chinese interest in arranging such an encounter.
It became clear as time went on, however, that such a meeting would be unlikely. The White House has said there is still no date set for a virtual meeting between Biden and Xi, though it is expected to occur before the end of the year.
“They will be able to sit as close to face to face as technology allows to see one another and spend a significant amount of time going over the full agenda,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said ahead of Biden’s departure to Europe.
China remains front and center
In an interview with CNN this week, Taiwan’s president acknowledged for the first time the presence of US troops on the island for training purposes, a major development that was not received well in Beijing. As he traveled to Rome to represent Xi at the G-20, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the US and its partners not to interfere in Taiwan’s affairs.
In their talks on Friday, Biden and Macron spent the most time behind the scenes discussing China, a senior administration official said, calling it a “three-dimensional discussion.”
“Not like how are we going to get together to go contain China or not how are we going to go start a new Cold War as allies, but rather: How do we contend with the questions that China’s rise poses to democracies, to allies, to market economies?” the official said, describing the two presidents’ talks. “And how do we do that in a way that protects our country’s interests and our values while at the same time doesn’t seek confrontation or conflict?”
Asked last week if it was a mistake for Xi not to attend this year’s G-20, Sullivan said he wouldn’t characterize the Chinese president’s decision making. But he acknowledged there was so substitute to meetings between leaders.
“In an era of intense competition between the US and China,” Sullivan said, “intense diplomacy, leader level diplomacy, is vital to effectively managing this relationship.”
CNN’s Kate Sullivan and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.