China denies inviting the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain to meet its president in November

Today, Tuesday, China denied the validity of reports that it had invited the leaders of 4 European countries to meet its President, Xi Jinping, in the Chinese capital, Beijing, during the month of November.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing that the report on China’s invitation to the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain to meet the Chinese president in November is “fake news.”
“I wonder where they got the information from,” he said.
And the Chinese newspaper, “South China Morning Post”, said in a report, Monday, that senior European leaders were invited to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in November, but they have not decided yet whether they will accept the invitation.
It added that invitations had been sent to German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to a senior source familiar with the situation.
And the Chinese newspaper added, “It is likely that the proposed date for the meeting of European leaders will be after the twentieth party congress, which is expected to be held next October.”
The Chinese newspaper pointed out that this visit will be China’s return to Western European leaders, after nearly 3 years of non-proliferation policy (Covid-19), which has hampered personal diplomacy in China.