The Wall Street Journal looks at how President Hu Jintao’s departure from the G8 summit to deal with unrest in Xinjiang will impact the meeting:
Chinese President Hu Jintao’s sudden departure Wednesday from the summit of the Group of Eight largest economies dealt a potentially significant blow to the sprawling summit’s ability to produce concrete results on issues from climate change to economic recovery.
Mr. Hu departed to deal with rioting in China’s western Xinjiang territory before he could meet privately with U.S. President Barack Obama or attend critical meetings of the G-8 plus 5, which includes five leading developing economies.
Mr. Hu was also to have attended a 17-nation Major Economies Forum on Thursday, chaired by Mr. Obama and charged with reaching accord on climate-change issues.
The Chinese president left behind Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo, whom U.S. Deputy White House National Security Adviser Denis McDonough describes as a powerful figure. Still, Mr. McDonough said, “It’s a fair question” to ask whether Mr. Hu’s departure will have an impact.
