Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin skipped the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro on Sunday, July 6.

While Xi Jinping sent China PM Li Qiang to attend the Summit; Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

As an ICC member, Brazil would be legally obligated to arrest Putin if he set foot on its territory. But why was Xi Jinping absent?

China’s economic challenges in the focus

Xi Jinping is staying away from the Rio de Janeiro summit to concentrate on managing China’s economic challenges.

According to CNN, China is grappling with steep economic challenges amid ongoing trade frictions with the US, with its leaders busy charting a course for the five years ahead of a key political conclave expected this year, and Xi maybe prioritising domestic planning over international travel.

Brian Wong, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, told CNN that sending Li Qiang should not be seen as a diplomatic downgrade. “There is much in BRICS+ that fits Xi’s foreign policy worldview,” he said.

China’s absence comes amid BRICS expansion

For the first time in more than one decade of rule, Xi was absent from the BRICS which owes its acronym to early members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and since 2024 has expanded to include Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran.

Now with 11 members, the bloc has more than doubled in size. Some new members have injected fresh divisions into the BRICS, which was already struggling for coherence and split between democracies and autocracies, reported Financial Times.

Brazilian first lady’s faux pas behind Xi’s absence?

According to The Times, another possibility behind Xi Jinping skipping the BRICS Summit could be that the Chinese leader is unhappy with Brazil first lady Rosangela Lula da Silva after an extraordinary turn of events over a month ago in Beijing.

Xi, however, has not officially stated the reason for his absence.

During a state visit to China, Brazilian President Lula and First Lady Janja attended a banquet with Xi Jinping. Just before dessert, the first lady raised her hand and addressed Xi, which was an ‘unusual break of protocol’ reported The Times.

She was reportedly critical of the Chinese social media company, TikTok, whose algorithm, she claimed, favoured right-wing views and was potentially harmful to children.

LiveMint does not endorse the claim made by The Times.