Do not read too much into Prez Xi's absence from G20: Alfredo Montufar-Helu

"Projects motivated by political considerations oftentimes end up as white elephants"

ALFREDO MONTUFAR-HELU is based in Beijing, where he heads the China Center for Economics and Business at the global business think tank, The Conference Board. In India for a conference, he shares his views on China’s future business and geopolitical trajectories with Aditi Phadnis. Edited excerpts:

President Xi Jinping did not attend the Group of Twenty (G20), and many have said this is a setback for relations between India and China. How do you see relations developing?
 

We should not overinterpret President Xi’s decision to not attend the G20 as a reflection of the China-India relationship. President Xi recently met