Xi and Sunak cancel G20 meeting due to scheduling issues.
A planned G20 meeting between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been cancelled owing to ‘scheduling concerns,’ according to a Downing Street official.
An emergency meeting called after a rocket killed two people in Poland near the border with Ukraine has interrupted the summit’s schedule on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Sunak and Xi were set to meet for the first time in nearly five years, with Sunak’s office stating beforehand that the prime minister would want to build a ‘frank and constructive relationship.’
In the previous decade, relations between London and Beijing have deteriorated as Britain has expressed concern that an open door to Chinese investment could pose national security dangers. London had also criticised Beijing’s economic tactics and record on human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Downing Street claimed in a statement released ahead of the meeting said China’s issues were ‘systemic’ and ‘long-term.’
‘China is a country with fundamentally different principles than ours, with an authoritarian leadership focused on altering the international order,’ the statement read.
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