San Francisco (AFP) – Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping will meet in San Francisco this Wednesday for the first time in a year in a meeting aimed at calming the waters and preventing the rivalry between the two world powers from becoming one leads to conflict.
First change: November 15, 2023 – 1:12 p.m
4 mins
The talk, which will take place on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Forum for Economic Cooperation (APEC), is an attempt to ease tensions over issues such as Taiwan, sanctions and trade exchanges.
A rapprochement between Beijing and Washington could also benefit armed conflicts such as that between Israel and Hamas, in which each country supports one of the opposing parties.
Biden insisted on emphasizing on the eve of the summit that the United States is not seeking to “separate from China” but to “transform the relationship for the better.”
He said he wanted to “return to a normal rhythm of correspondence and be able to pick up the phone and talk when there is a crisis.”
China has said Xi and Biden will discuss “global peace and development,” adding that it is not “fearful of competition.”
The two leaders’ last face-to-face meeting was in Bali in November 2022, and relations cooled after the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February.
“Turning to the conflict”
The incident came amid a long battle for global dominance between both countries.
“This is a complex, competitive relationship that could easily descend into conflict or confrontation if not handled appropriately,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
US President Joe Biden lands from Air Force One at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California on November 14, 2023 © Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
But in recent months, Beijing and Washington have engaged in a flurry of high-level diplomacy that led to the announcement of Xi’s visit less than a week before the summit.
The meeting, scheduled for 18:45 GMT, has been carefully choreographed to avoid any misunderstandings and will take place under strict security measures at an undisclosed location.
“After several weeks, the table is set for what we hope will be a very productive, open and constructive conversation,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One to San Francisco Tuesday.
But U.S. officials were cautious about making any major announcements after the meeting.
The most likely formal outcome is the restoration of the hotline between the two countries’ militaries, which Beijing canceled after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022.
Biden is expected to warn China against interfering in elections in two months in Taiwan, the self-proclaimed democracy over which Beijing claims sovereignty and does not want to take by force.
Fentanyl
There is speculation that an agreement to limit the use of artificial intelligence in nuclear weapons systems is also on the table.
It could also discuss possible cooperation to limit Chinese exports of ingredients for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has caused a high number of deaths in American cities such as San Francisco, the site of the meeting.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the last time on November 14, 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 summit on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali © SAUL LOEB / AFP/Files
The issue must be addressed in bilateral meetings that the heads of state and government will hold separately with Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, his Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena reported on Tuesday.
“We need to talk about the fentanyl chain, the precursors that come mainly from Asia, and how we can better control what leaves Asia and what enters Mexico,” he said, referring to the agenda that Mexico has set for these two bilaterals meeting presented. outside APEC.
López Obrador will meet with Xi Jinping on Thursday, the first meeting between the two leaders to discuss economic issues, while on Friday he will meet with Biden, with whom he already held a meeting earlier in the year .
The immigration issue, Bárcena said, will be one of the crucial topics of the meeting, as will economic relations between the two countries.
“We are the premier trading partner of the United States and the foreign investment coming from the United States this year is only $15 billion,” he said.
The APEC summit, which brings together the leaders of the Pacific bloc’s 21 economies, runs until Friday in San Francisco.
© 2023 AFP