The presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and China, Xi Jinping, have shown harmony and a spirit of reconciliation as they begin their long-awaited summit this Wednesday in a mansion on the outskirts of San Francisco. In a significant turnaround in a more than icy relationship over the past nine months, the leader of the Asian giant assured that both countries must be able to overcome their differences. The American stressed his country’s interest in preventing the rivalry between the two world giants from “leading to confrontation.”
“Conflict and confrontation would have unbearable consequences for both countries,” the Chinese president said with a smile in front of Biden. On either side of the two presidents, a long line of advisers in dark suits regarded them solemnly. Two large flags of each country dominated the room. For his part, the tenant of the White House emphasized: “We did not always agree, which surprises no one, but our meetings were always open, direct and useful.”
At least for the moment, the catastrophic differences on issues such as human rights, the situation in Taiwan, control of the South China Sea and technological competition remained hidden. All topics that should be discussed during the meeting hours planned for this Wednesday, such as the war between Israel and Hamas or the conflict in Ukraine.
Both had greeted each other with a handshake upon their arrival at the Filoli residence without making any statements to the press, surrounded by intense security measures that had cut off access for miles, filled the parking lots with police vehicles and populated the palatial gardens. with agents from the US Secret Service and the Chinese President’s Bodyguard Corps. Perhaps a reference to the fear of foreign Covid that Beijing has instilled in its citizens during the three years of the pandemic, many of the Chinese agents have covered their mouths with masks.
The meeting is crucial: China comes with a weakened economy; The United States is under pressure from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The aim of the meeting is to prevent the rivalry between the world’s two major economic powers, the United States and China, from “turning into a confrontation,” emphasized a senior official who spoke to journalists covering the American on condition of anonymity Presidents in his conversation accompanied his visit to San Francisco for the summit with Xi and the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC).
It is the first time that the two heads of state and government have maintained direct contact since their face-to-face meeting in November 2022 in Bali (Indonesia) during the G20 summit. They then agreed to take steps to shore up weakened trust between the two countries and revitalize the world’s most important bilateral relationship after then-President Donald Trump’s administration and Beijing imposed tariffs on tens of dollars’ worth of products from their countries Billions of dollars had been imported by respective countries in 2018.
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Delicate and intense diplomatic choreography
The incident with the Chinese hot air balloon that crossed United States territory last February before being shot down shattered those good intentions for months. Achieving the meeting required a diplomatic choreography that was as delicate as it was intense: meetings of the respective national security advisers in Vienna and Malta, trips to Beijing by the ministers of state, finance and trade, and reciprocal visits to Washington and San Francisco by high-ranking Chinese officials. . Meanwhile, Biden and Xi did not even have telephone contact.
After the welcome at Filoli Gardens, a 600-acre estate in Woodside, 25 miles (40 kilometers) from San Francisco, the two leaders held a series of meetings alone and with their advisory teams. The conclusion of their discussions was a working lunch, where the menu included ricotta ravioli with fine herbs, crispy artichokes, tarragon-scented fried chicken and almond meringue cake with Concorde grape sauce. At the end of the meeting, Biden will hold a press conference alone at 4:15 p.m. local time (1:15 p.m. on Thursday in Spanish peninsular time).
The two presidents are not expected to release a joint statement because their positions on all issues are too far apart. However, various agreements could arise. Washington is pinning its hopes on a pact to restore direct communications between their respective armies, saying it is essential to prevent the numerous clashes between its patrols near Taiwan or in the South China Sea from turning into a crisis with serious consequences. Talks have been on hold since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022 on a trip that sparked Beijing’s anger.
“It is a key goal of President Biden,” the senior official said. “We want political dialogues at the highest levels and for commanders to have dialogues about operations in the Indo-Pacific.”
Global warming
In addition, “other areas of economic, trade and technology dialogue will be important,” continuing beyond the San Francisco Bay Summit. Both countries already issued a statement on Tuesday evening in which they want to increase cooperation in the fight against climate change, one of the important areas where Washington and Beijing – the world’s largest emitters – have common interests.
But the White House warns against setting expectations too high. “There is a clear awareness that the context is different” and that today’s summits – and those that may take place in the future – are no longer comparable to those of a few years ago, where success was on the rise measured by the number of signed agreements. However, in many cases these agreements were never implemented. Now, “the context of U.S.-China relations is a competitive context. And that is why we are taking steps to prevent competition from turning into confrontation, something that the President has made very clear and that is in the interests of the United States, its partners and allies.”
Both leaders also addressed the situation of Taiwan, the island with a democratic regime that China considers part of its territory and that does not renounce unification through military means. Taiwan holds elections in January and Beijing favors a victory for the conservative Kuomintang, rather than good relations with the other side of the Strait. I would contemplate with horror a triumph for the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP), which has been in government for eight years and has an increasingly distant relationship with Xi’s executive branch. At the same time, President Tsai Ing Wen is maintaining ever closer ties with Washington.
Neutrality in elections
Beijing is seeking some kind of American guarantee of its neutrality in these elections. In contrast, Washington claims: “We will make clear our determination to support Taiwan’s democracy; we will celebrate it as an important achievement in which we have great confidence.”
“[Biden] will underscore our continued commitment to stability. “We believe that a strong unofficial American relationship with Taiwan is in our interest and that this will continue to be the case.” The United States broke off diplomatic ties with the island when it formally established them with Beijing in 1979, they maintain but continue informally.
The American president will also ask his Chinese counterpart to send a message to Iran, the United States’ major adversary in the Middle East, with which Beijing has good relations. According to the White House, Biden will tell Xi that it is “essential” that Tehran avoids actions that could expand the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. Any move by the Islamic regime in this regard would provoke a “strong reaction” from the United States.
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