WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden’s administration is diligently working to arrange an in-person meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, tentatively set for next month in San Francisco during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum from November 11 to 17. However, both Biden and US officials are emphasizing the inherent uncertainties in the planning process.
The Significance:
Biden’s team has invested months of effort into facilitating a summit between the two leaders, positioning it as a focal point during the APEC gathering. Yet, they remain cautious about the specifics, including the precise time, location, and the agenda for the meeting. While reports in The Washington Post on Thursday indicated that plans for the San Francisco summit were “pretty firm,” President Biden conveyed a note of circumspection during his remarks on the US economy at the White House on Friday. He stated, “There is no such meeting set up, but it is a possibility.”
The Implications:
US officials view this potential meeting as crucial in attempting to ameliorate a relationship that has experienced escalating tensions in recent years. Key points of contention include the Taiwan issue and China’s military expansion in the South China Sea. Notably, cross-military communications channels designed to de-escalate conflicts between the two nations were severed after a visit to Taiwan by former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022, which infuriated China.
Tensions further flared early this year when a Chinese balloon, characterized by US officials as a sophisticated surveillance balloon, traversed US airspace and was eventually intercepted by a US fighter jet.
President Biden and President Xi last engaged in a summit in 2022 during a G20 gathering on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
US Cabinet members, such as Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry, have undertaken diplomatic visits to China this year to thaw relations and preserve open lines of communication.
The prospect of a summit between President Biden and President Xi was among the topics discussed when White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta last month.
By Reuters
