BEIJING: President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Indonesia from November 14 to 17, China’s foreign ministry confirmed on Friday.
He will then travel to Thailand from November 17 to 19 to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing Xi will meet US President Joe Biden and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron next week in Bali, as well as Senegal’s Macky Sall and Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez.
The White House has already confirmed Biden and Xi will meet on November 14 on the sidelines of the G20 summit, in their first in-person talks since the US leader became president.
The two met prior to Biden taking office and have spoken by phone a number of times over the past 22 months, but the COVID-19 pandemic and Xi’s aversion to foreign travel has prevented them from meeting in person.
Their meeting during the G20 comes after Xi last month was awarded a landmark third term as leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
The US and China have a massive investment and trade relationship but are also challenging each other’s military and diplomatic influence, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
China confirms Xi Jinping to attend G20 summit
https://arab.news/mtcru
China confirms Xi Jinping to attend G20 summit
- The White House has already confirmed Biden and Xi will meet on November 14 on the sidelines of the G20 summit
Protesters to rally in Milan denouncing impact of Winter Games
MILAN: Thousands of people were expected to march through Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and urban affordability on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is set to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.
The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as Italy’s tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, drew professionals to the financial capital.
According to police estimates, more than 3,000 people are expected to join the march.
It will set off at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the Medaglie d’Oro central square and cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) before ending in Milan’s south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.
A rally last weekend by the hard-left in the city of Turin turned violent, with more than 100 police officers injured and nearly 30 protesters arrested, according to an interior ministry tally.
Saturday’s protest follows a series of actions in the run-up to the Games, including rallies on the eve of the opening ceremony that denounced the presence in Italy of US ICE agents and what activists describe as the social and economic burdens of the Olympic project.
Some groups argue that Olympics are a waste of money and resources while housing prices are unaffordable and public meeting places scarce.
The march is taking place under tight security as Milan hosts world leaders, athletes and thousands of visitors for the global sport event, including US Vice President JD Vance.
Political tensions surfaced at the opening ceremony on Friday night where Vance drew jeers in the packed San Siro stadium when an image of him waving the US flag appeared on a big screen.
