Relations between China and the US have reached their lowest point in recent months. US President Joe Biden and China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, will now be able to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific States (APEC) summit in November.
According to the White House, the US and China are working on a personal meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese head of state Xi Jinping in San Francisco in mid-November. A US government representative said on Friday evening (local time) that a “possible meeting” between the two during the Asia-Pacific States (APEC) summit would focus mainly on “strategic intentions”. The White House made Biden’s trip to the summit official.
The government headquarters tried not to definitively confirm a possible meeting between Biden and Xi, even when asked. However, she indicated that such a meeting was likely. The US government is preparing for a meeting, the US representative said. China usually confirms the travel plans of head of state and party leader Xi at short notice. That’s why they want to let Beijing decide if and when such an announcement will be made.
US President Biden previously met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the White House. This has already been seen as a sign of a possible personal conversation between Biden and Xi at the APEC summit. Xi and Biden last met in person on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia about a year ago. It was also the first personal meeting between the two as presidents.
Tense tensions between nuclear powers
Relations between China and the US have reached their lowest point in recent months. A Chinese spy balloon over the US and US sanctions against companies in the People’s Republic, which is governed by the Communist Party, have caused problems. China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and threats against Taiwan have also generated discord. Visits by senior US government officials, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to China in recent months have aimed to calm the heated atmosphere between the two nuclear powers. Blinken also met with Wang Yi in Washington this week. (APA/dpa)