Xi abandons dinner with Putin and allies as a backup source to counter the Corona virus

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has stayed away from a dinner attended by 11 heads of state at a regional security summit, in line with his delegation’s policy on the coronavirus, a government source told Reuters on Friday. .

Xi, who is making his first overseas trip since the beginning of the epidemic, is attending a meeting this week of the China-Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

However, he was absent from the group photos published late on Thursday when the leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, went to dinner.

An Uzbek government source confirmed Xi’s absence and said the Chinese delegation cited the novel coronavirus policy as the reason.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Xi, 69, is set to secure a third historic leadership term at the Communist Party Congress, which begins next month.

(Muhammad Sharif Mamatkulov reports). Additional reporting by Yu Lun Tian in Beijing. Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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