Chinese PM Li Qiang to visit Indonesia to attend ASEAN summit

Beijing: Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will visit Indonesia to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) being held from September 5-8, the foreign ministry here said on Friday.

The announcement comes amid reports that there is a possibility that China may send Li for the G20 summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 as chances of Chinese President Xi Jinping's participation in the event are very low.

At the invitation of President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from September 5 to 8, and pay an official visit to Indonesia, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

It is learnt that Premier Li is likely to travel to India after attending the East Asia summit in Jakarta.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are also among the G20 leaders who have confirmed their participation at the summit.

There was no official word from the Indian side on the Chinese participation at the G20 summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it will not be possible for him to travel to India to participate in the summit.

In its capacity as current president of G20, India is hosting the annual summit of the influential grouping.