First in-person meeting between the two heads of state since the inauguration of the US president in January 2021. Ways are being sought to reduce geopolitical tension. Washington is willing to work together on global issues. Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, both leaders oppose the use of nuclear weapons.
Beijing () – Both agree to manage differences and avoid conflict. This is the minimum result that was expected from the meeting that took place today in Bali, on the eve of the G20 summit, between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden. About three hours long, it was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since the US president took office in January 2021.
Since the Trump presidency, the two powers have been at odds over a trade war, a technological clash and over the future of Taiwan, a de facto independent country but which communist China claims as its own province.
In keynote speeches, the two talked about the need to set lines so as not to miscalculate. Xi said China and the United States should chart the right course and find the right direction in their relations, which should be “strengthened.” Beijing has made no secret of its concern about the current state of those relations.
The United States has made it clear that it is willing to work together on issues of global concern such as economic stability, climate change, food and health security, and developing country debt.
The White House specified that the US wants to keep the lines of communication open with China, but that it will continue to invest in its own defense and calibrate its efforts with allies and partners around the world.
Biden raised the issue of human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong with Xi. Regarding Taiwan, he said that Washington is opposed to changing the status quo. According to Chinese media, Xi for his part warned the United States not to cross the “red line” with respect to the island.
According to reports from the US side, Biden and Xi reiterated their opposition to the use or threat of resorting to nuclear weapons in Ukraine. According to what was leaked by US diplomacy, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang yesterday, during the East Asian Summit in Cambodia, denounced the “irresponsibility” of nuclear threats: a veiled attack against Russia’s “unlimited” partner, which spares no allusions to the possible use of nuclear weapons in the conflict with Ukraine. However, a military expert specializing in China told that dissuading Russia from considering the use of nuclear weapons requires great moral strength, which he believes the Chinese government does not have.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China shortly to follow up on the issues Biden and Xi discussed today. Regarding the concrete results of the meeting between the two heads of state, something can be seen immediately, indirectly, in the result of the meeting that Xi will hold tomorrow with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and an interview with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. on the sidelines of the Apec meeting in Bangkok on November 17. Tensions between China on the one hand and Australia and Japan on the other have risen sharply in recent years.
