15/11/2023 05:26 (current 15/11/2023 05:30)
Exactly one year ago, the two met for the last time in Bali ©APA/AFP
US President Joe Biden and China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping will meet in California on Wednesday to stabilize tense relations between the two countries. The meeting is planned in the San Francisco metropolitan area and will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Biden and Xi have not seen each other in person since the G20 summit a year ago in Bali, Indonesia.
The North American side said that the objective of the conversation was to shape competition between the two countries in a responsible way, guarantee communication channels and avoid entering into conflict. The meeting is expected to begin in the evening Central European time and is expected to last several hours. Information on the meeting’s progress is not expected until Thursday evening.
Biden hopes relations with China will improve in the future. Shortly before a meeting with the Chinese head of state and party leader, Xi Jinping, Biden said it would be a success for him if both countries managed to achieve a “normal course of exchanges with each other”. The goal is to be able to “pick up the phone and talk,” Biden said on Tuesday at the White House in Washington, before leaving for the meeting in California.
Wednesday’s meeting is planned in the San Francisco area and will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Biden and Xi have not seen each other in person since the G20 summit a year ago in Bali, Indonesia.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies have been very tense for a long time. A trade conflict, allegations of espionage, tensions over Taiwan and China’s stance on the Ukraine war have brought the relationship to a low point. In recent months, however, both sides have tried to revive communication between them. The meeting of presidents was preceded by numerous meetings between senior members of the government of the two countries.