Chinese President Xi Jinping unexpectedly missed a speech at the BRICS Business Forum in South Africa, leading to widespread conjecture.
Although Xi arrived in Johannesburg for a state visit and the BRICS summit, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, he did not make his scheduled appearance at the forum.
Instead, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao spoke on his behalf.
Out of the BRICS leaders, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin were absent from the live event.
Putin, facing legal constraints, participated virtually.
Xi’s unexplained absence was considered unusual by experts like Brian Hart from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
However, Xi was later seen attending other official engagements, including a dinner hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and meetings with other BRICS leaders.
The lack of an official explanation for Xi’s absence and ambiguous posts from Chinese officials, like Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, have intensified discussions.
While some analysts voiced their confusion, others, like Andy Mok from the Center for China and Globalization, urged patience and perspective, suggesting that a variety of reasons might have led to Xi’s absence.
In the speech delivered by Minister Wang on behalf of Xi, criticism was aimed at the perceived division between ‘democracy and authoritarianism’ suggested by the U.S. administration.
The speech also countered concerns about China’s economic stability amid challenges in its real estate sector.
Future engagements include a China-Africa leaders’ roundtable dialogue co-chaired by Xi and Ramaphosa.