Chinese President Xi Jinping. [Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency. Redistribution and database prohibited.] 

There are speculations that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit scheduled to be held in Malaysia in October.

On the 22nd (local time), Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources, that President Xi is highly unlikely to attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur from October 26-28.

These sources anticipate that Premier Li Qiang, second in protocol order, will attend the summit to represent China instead of President Xi.

Previously, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is hosting the event, had stated that President Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump were expected to attend the ASEAN summit.

The summit had been drawing significant attention as the leaders of the US and China have not met face-to-face since the inauguration of the second Trump administration, and both countries are currently in a "tariff truce" following recent trade negotiations.

When questioned about President Xi's attendance, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "China has always attached great importance to ASEAN relations and East Asian cooperation," but evaded a direct answer, saying, "There is no specific information to provide at this time."

Reuters also reported that the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.

President Trump had previously expressed his intention to attend the ASEAN summit during a phone call with Prime Minister Anwar late last month.

If President Xi does not attend the ASEAN summit, it becomes more likely that the US and Chinese leaders will have their first in-person meeting in South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held in Gyeongju from October 30 to November 1. Yonhap News Agency