Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely skip the upcoming BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro—his first absence since taking office. Beijing cites scheduling conflicts, but Brazilian officials believe the real reason is diplomatic discomfort over a state dinner invitation extended to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Xi Jinping to skip Brics summit in Brazil after India’s Modi offered state dinner - Chinese president has never missed a Brics summit before

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that information about Xi's participation in the summit will be shared at the "appropriate time". Guo added that China supported Brazil’s BRICS presidency and sought to “promote deeper cooperation” among its members.