It means that China president, Xi Jinping, won’t be attending the event once again. His last appearance was all the way back in 2017. China premier, Li Qiang, is the designated leader to spearhead the Chinese delegation – which is reported to include a large and senior group of government officials.
The sources said that the attending group is an usually large and will involve high-level officials from ministries involved in the management of economic and foreign affairs. This is said to highlight China’s “openness to the outside world and to relieve some external pressure”.