At Biden’s invitation, Xi traveled to San Francisco for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum, which ends this Friday.
San Francisco hosted the long-awaited meeting between the leaders of two of the world’s most important powers. (Photo: PL)
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, waited this Wednesday, smiling, at the entrance of the Filoli residence, about 50 kilometers from San Francisco, for the arrival of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Xi got out of the car and walked towards the host, who held out his hand and they waited just the right time for the photos. Both delegations then conveyed their greetings in the discussion room.
So, in a seemingly relaxed atmosphere, the long-awaited meeting between the leaders of two of the most important world powers began.
At the beginning, the American president admitted that “we did not always agree, which surprises no one, but our meetings were always open, direct and useful.”
He also suggested that the United States and China “must be able to overcome their differences.”
Xi, for his part, assured Biden that “planet Earth is big enough for both countries to move forward” and, like his host, emphasized that Washington and Beijing “must be fully able to overcome their differences.”
The last face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state was a year ago at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where some agreements were reached.
The fact that the talks are taking place is seen by White House aides as a positive sign for many observers after months of high tensions.
Facing an escalating conflict in the Middle East and a devastating war in Ukraine, Biden is eager to prevent another global crisis from breaking out during his term, local press reports say.
Just as Biden was preparing for his trip to San Francisco, he told reporters his desire to “take a normal course,” even if there are deep differences on many issues.
According to the Democratic leader, “if there is a crisis, it would be good to be able to pick up the phone and talk to each other.” “To ensure that our military continues to have contact with each other, we are trying to improve relations.”
Xi traveled to San Francisco at Biden’s invitation for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC), which ends on Friday.
“Creating a resilient and sustainable future for all” is the theme of this mechanism, which brings together more than a thousand participants in the Californian city, including the leaders of the 21 economies that make up the mechanism, created in 1989.
