G20 meeting Reunion for Xi and Biden as Russia left out in the cold

The G20 meeting in Bali signalled Xi Jinping's emergence from three years of self-imposed pandemic isolation, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, among those keen to secure a chat and photo opportunity with the Chinese leader.

- Justin McCurry

Despite condemnation of Chinese human rights abuses and anxiety over its intentions in the Taiwan Strait, the largely positive tone set by Xi's bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden continued until the end of the summit.

But they were also opportunities for Xi's counterparts to communicate their grievances in person. Albanese, the first Australian prime minister to meet Xi since 2016, described their meeting as "positive and constructive", but had raised the detention of the Australian citizen's Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, as well as human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.

Macron, meanwhile, asked Xi to persuade Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine and reportedly said he would like to visit China next year, Covid restrictions permitting.

The summit was dominated by geopolitics, to the irritation of its Indonesian hosts, who had wanted the focus to be on food and energy security and the climate crisis.