The absence of key world leaders hangs over Biden’s first G-20
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…
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