A source in the Uzbek government told Reuters on Friday that Xi Jinping, the leader of China, didn’t go to dinner with 11 other heads of state at a regional security summit. This was in line with the COVID-19 policy of his delegation.
Xi is taking his first trip outside of China since the start of the pandemic.
He is going to the Uzbek city of Samarkand this week to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is led by China and Russia.
But he wasn’t in the pictures of the leaders at dinner on Thursday night, which showed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
A source in the Uzbek government confirmed that Xi was not there. The source also said that the Chinese delegation gave its COVID-19 policy as the reason.
When asked for a comment in Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry did not respond right away.
Xi, who is 69, will likely win a historic third term as a leader at a Communist Party congress that starts next month.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
