President Biden to meet President Xi Jinping in person for first time.
The long-awaited face-to-face encounter will take place at a time when superpower ties are at their lowest point in decades. Prior to the annual Group of 20 (G20) meeting, which brings together the heads of the major established and emerging economies of the globe, the two will meet on Bali, an island in Indonesia.
Biden enters the summit riding high after Democrats won control of the Senate, a development that was welcomed by world leaders, and after Xi was granted an unprecedented third term in power last month.
I Am Stronger Than Before
“Although I am stronger than before, I don’t need that. I spent more time with Xi Jinping than any other world leader, therefore I am familiar with him.” Following the Senate vote results on Sunday, Biden spoke to media in Cambodia. “Where each of us stands is never calculated incorrectly.”
Floor For The Relationship with China
Prior to the G20, the US president is on a whirlwind tour that includes stops in Egypt for an international climate summit, an ASEAN summit, and Cambodia’s East Asia Summit. He hopes to establish a “floor for the relationship” with China and ensure that there are regulations governing competition between the two countries.
Biden recently stated that when he talks with Xi, he will not be making any fundamental compromises and that he wants both leaders to define their “red lines” and settle any points of contention.
Stabilization of Relation
The White House has stated that no joint statement is anticipated from the meeting, which is unlikely to result in any tangible outcomes. Nevertheless, it may contribute to the stabilization of relations amid rising tensions over issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, coercive trade policies, and US technology restrictions.
Since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, the two have spoken five times by phone or video. Their last in-person encounter took place under the Obama presidency. Particular tensions arose during US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, the autonomous, democratic island that Beijing claims as its own.
Opportunities for US And China
Asserting that “the president sees the United States and China as being engaged in a fierce competition, but that competitiveness should not spill over into conflict or confrontation,” Sullivan told reporters and promised Biden will respond later. He added that Biden would search at opportunities for cooperation between the US and China in other sectors, such as public health or climate change.
More than ten years had passed since the beginning of the relationship.
In discussions that lasted 78 hours and covered almost 17,000 miles together, the two leaders are well acquainted, according to Biden’s estimations. In 2011 and 2012, when both were vice presidents of their respective nations, they spent time together in China and the United States.
Leaders of The Group of 20 in Bali, Indonesia
The Biden administration recently unveiled a new national security strategy that views an increasingly authoritarian China as the most significant threat to the international order. This meeting on Monday took place in conjunction with a gathering of the leaders of the Group of 20 in Bali, Indonesia.
Aim to Kill Two Birds with One Stone
According to Stanford University’s Oriana Skylar Mastro, a China scholar, “the Biden administration would aim to kill two birds with one stone – solicit Chinese backing on matters like reining in North Korea and climate change – to create some basis for collaboration between China and the US.”
