2023-11-16 00:00:00
Biden salutes Xi Jinping (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded their summit to reduce tension in California, the White House reported on Wednesday, about four hours after the talks began. As reported by the AP agency, the leaders reached an agreement to stop the production of fentanyl and reestablish contacts on military matters.
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Biden said there was “real progress” in the meeting with Xi in California with the aim of reducing tensions between the two superpowers. “I value the conversation I had with President Xi,” Biden said on X (formerly Twitter). “And today we have made real progress.”
During the meeting, the leaders took a walk through the gardens of the Filoli estate, near San Francisco. Biden said the talks were going “well” and greeted reporters with a double thumbs up, while Xi waved.
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Biden and Xi shook hands to begin the long-awaited meeting with which they seek to calm tensions between the United States and China.
Biden walks alongside Xi (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Biden arrived first and waited for Xi, who emerged from a black car and took Biden’s hand in a warm handshake before the two leaders walked a red carpet through the estate’s grand entrance, carrying a flag of China on one side and the United States on the other. Five marines remained in formation.
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The two began the conversations by talking about how important and necessary the relationship between the two nations is, especially as the world recovers from the global pandemic. Biden said the goal of the summit was for the leaders to “understand each other,” and Xi said they both have “great responsibilities” to the world.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
“For two big countries like China and the United States, turning their backs on each other is not an option,” Xi said through a translator. “Planet Earth is big enough for both countries to be successful.”
Biden noted that the two leaders have known each other for years but have not always seen eye to eye, and stressed the importance of their in-person meeting on Wednesday.
“It is essential that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, without misunderstandings or miscommunications,” Biden said
The two leaders are in California to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, but will hold their talks alone at Filoli Estate, a country house and museum located about 40 kilometers south of San Francisco.
The leaders of the world’s two largest economies are expected to hold talks of at least three hours at a farm on the outskirts of the city.
The carefully choreographed meeting began after closed-door bilateral talks, including a working lunch. Leaders of the world’s largest economies are expected to hold talks lasting at least three hours.
Biden, 80, extended an olive branch to Xi, 70, on the eve of the talks, insisting that the United States is “not trying to disengage from China” and wants to improve the relationship.
Biden arriving in San Francisco (REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small)
But the US president couldn’t resist adding later, at a fundraising dinner, that under Xi’s communist leadership, China was facing “real problems,” while Biden claimed to be “restoring American leadership in the world.” ”.
China responded with a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointing out that all countries had problems, including the United States, while sticking to positive talking points about the summit.
“The key to stabilizing and improving China-U.S. relations is for both sides to work together, and the most fundamental condition is mutual respect,” said spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Xi Jinping en San Francisco (REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small)
The two leaders have not met in person since holding talks in Bali in November 2022, and relations plummeted after the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February this year.
The talks also come against the backdrop of a long struggle for global primacy between the United States and an increasingly assertive China.
One of the most sensitive issues is Taiwan, the self-governed democracy over which Beijing claims sovereignty and which it has not ruled out taking by force. This Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Chinese Government’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, reiterated that Taiwan’s pursuit of independence would mean “war.”
Biden is expected to warn China not to interfere in elections due in two months in Taiwan, arguing that would raise tensions.
The Chinese spy balloon case marked the lowest point in relations between the two countries in the last year (REUTERS/Randall Hill)
“This is a complex relationship, a competitive relationship, that could easily spiral into conflict or confrontation if not managed well,” said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday.
Beijing and Washington have maintained intense high-level diplomatic activity in recent months that led to the announcement, less than a week before the summit, of Xi’s arrival.
Expectations for big announcements are low, but the two countries have tracked a series of potential wins from Xi’s first visit to U.S. soil since he was welcomed by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.
Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trump in 2017 (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/file)
One of Biden’s “key goals” is reestablishing the military hotline between the two countries, which Beijing cut after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022, a senior House official said. US Administration.
“Progress” is also expected in cooperation to limit Chinese exports of ingredients for fentanyl, the drug that has devastated American cities such as San Francisco, the official said.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the war in Ukraine, in which the two governments are supporting opposing sides, increasing global tensions.
On the eve of the summit, China and the United States also pledged to collaborate more closely in the fight against global warming, declaring in a joint statement that the climate crisis was “one of the greatest challenges of our time.”
Joe Biden with Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File)
For his part, Xi is expected to push for an end to trade restrictions and sanctions as the Chinese economy struggles to shore up growth following its tough zero-calorie policy.
The Chinese leader will host a dinner with U.S. executives after the summit “to send the message that China is still a good place to invest,” the U.S. official said.
Biden and Xi landed in San Francisco on Tuesday, where thousands of people lined the streets waving China’s red and gold flags and carrying banners welcoming the Chinese leader.
The leaders hope to capitalize on a personal relationship that dates back nearly a decade and a half.
The two met when then-Vice President Biden was sent by President Barack Obama in 2011 to meet with Xi, at that time the number two in the Chinese hierarchy.
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