China Disputes Report Xi Invited Europe Heads to Beijing Meeting
- Xi asked Germany, France, Italy, Spain to meet, SCMP reported
- President hasn’t met a Western leader in person since 2020
Xi Jinping
Photographer: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
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China flatly denied a report that President Xi Jinping had invited top European leaders to meet him in Beijing later this year, and was still awaiting their response, as tensions fray between Beijing and the bloc.
“I don’t know what’s their source of information,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday, referencing the South China Morning Post report. “I can tell you that is fake news,” he added, at a regular press briefing in Beijing.