China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be visiting Europe and the United States this month before attending a G20 meeting in South Africa, Beijing announced on Monday. The announcement comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he would not attend the G20 talks due to what he called an "anti-American" agenda.
Wang Yi will be visiting the UK and Ireland from February 12-17, and will also participate in the Munich Security Conference in Germany before heading to Johannesburg for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting. This was announced by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun during a regular press conference on Monday.
Wang Yi aims to use the G20 meeting to "send a strong signal to the world in support of multilateralism," Guo Jiakun said. "The G20 should promote the spirit of partnership, work together to promote global economic growth, and steer global governance in a more just and reasonable direction," he added.
In a separate statement, the Foreign Ministry said that Wang Yi will "expound China's position on major international issues" in Munich. He will later chair a UN Security Council event in New York on "multilateralism, reform and improvement of global governance," the statement said.
The US has withdrawn from several international organizations in recent months, including the World Health Organization and the UN Human Rights Council, under President Donald Trump. The US boycott of the G20 meeting further highlights the growing tensions between the two superpowers.
The G20 meeting in South Africa is expected to focus on issues such as global economic recovery, climate change, and international cooperation. The meeting's outcome could have significant implications for global relations, particularly in the context of the ongoing US-China rivalry.