He never missed a summit, whether it was on another continent or on his doorstep. She also liked being in the photo. In many photos. In them he posed with the firmness provided by the conviction of seeing himself as one of the great protagonists of the moment. With his country in full economic and diplomatic expansion, colleagues also demanded his attention for bilateral meetings: more flashes in the middle of a handshake and succulent trade agreements on the table.

Xi Jinping has always been comfortable at political parties. The president of China also had a reputation as a great traveler thanks to the long international tours to which he was accustomed, with binge visits to other countries. But the pandemic arrived and the leader of the second world power spent two years and eight months without leaving home, breaking with the face-to-face diplomacy of which he boasted so much.

Just a year ago, Xi broke his confinement to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a regional summit in Uzbekistan. It seemed that the powerful Chinese leader was re-emerging in the international arena. Then came the G20 summit held in Bali, including a key meeting with American Joe Biden.

2023 arrived, Beijing finally opened all its doors by lifting the zero Covid policy, and Xi, one of the first things he did, was to get on a plane to Moscow to meet Putin again. But the 70-year-old Chinese president, strengthened after grabbing an unprecedented third term, has maintained a very homey profile throughout the year. Although the photos have been taken in the same way because there have been many leaders who were eager to visit Xi in Beijing, from the Spanish Pedro Sánchez to the Brazilian Lula da Silva.

Until August came around, during the previous seven months, Xi had only spent two days outside his country (in Moscow). But last month she had an appointment in Africa that she did not want to miss: the BRICS summit in South Africa. There, as the undisputed protagonist of the forum, he joined forces with his colleagues from Brazil, Russia (Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attended on behalf of Moscow) and South Africa. It even seemed that he had approached positions with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, another of the members of this forum of developing economies that approved the accession of six new members to continue joining forces to rival the West.

Modi, precisely, is the host of the next big summit: the G20 in New Delhi. There will be, among many other leaders, the French Emmanuel Macron, the German Olaf Scholz, the Australian Anthony Albanese, the British Rishi Sunak or the Japanese Fumio Kishida. It was already known that Putin would not attend. But the bombshell news of the last few hours has been the possible absence of Xi Jinping as well. Nobody saw it coming.

Outside of the pandemic, Xi has never missed a G20 summit in person since he took office in 2013. He has always seen a great diplomatic opportunity for China in this strategic forum involving the world’s largest economies, above all to present himself as the great candidate to face the hegemonic order of the United States. However, according to what diplomatic sources have assured Reuters this week, among Xi’s plans is not going to Delhi on September 9 and 10.

If this information, which Beijing has not confirmed, is true, Prime Minister Li Qiang would attend on behalf of the Asian giant. “I hope Xi Jinping attends,” Joe Biden said Thursday from Washington. Everyone was expecting a meeting in Delhi between the top two world economies, which are at odds in many commercial and geopolitical fields. Although the White House has suggested that, if not in Delhi, the meeting between Biden and Xi will probably be held next November in San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

Several interpretations could be made if Xi does not finally attend Delhi, as a gesture that reveals the priority importance that the Chinese leader gives to the BRICS, a visible break with the West or a setback sought towards the host and rotating president of the G20. India is in full economic and diplomatic expansion. This year it surpassed China in population and has just landed a ship on the south pole of the Moon, something that no other country had achieved.

India and China have been at odds for more than three years, mainly over the disputed border they share in the Himalayas. Earlier this week, the two Asian powers have clashed after Delhi accused Beijing of publishing a map showing Arunachal Pradesh and the Doklam Plateau, areas disputed by the two parties in the past, within China’s borders.