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The world’s most crucial bilateral relationship will be clarified when President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in person for the first time since Biden entered office on Monday. “The leaders will talk about ways to keep and strengthen communication channels between the US and PRC, appropriately manage competition, and collaborate when our interests coincide, particularly on transnational issues that have an impact on the global community.
The two leaders will also talk about a variety of national and international concerns, according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. US representatives aren’t expecting any major outcomes from the meeting that will take place alongside the G20 conference in Bali, not even the hope that tensions will be significantly reduced.
They do, however, hope that Biden can “create the floor” of a working relationship that avoids friction and even enables fruitful cooperation in issues like climate change and North Korea. A senior administration official said, “I don’t in any way expect that the two leaders will sit down and be able to address all their disagreements or concerns. However, I believe that we do believe that some of these actions may be crucial in the future.
The heads of state of China and the US will have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. pic.twitter.com/foPVJ8xoDX
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) November 11, 2022
US officials hope the two presidents can at least get an understanding of how they see the relationship between the two greatest economies of the world, if not any significant conclusions. The official promised “in-depth” and “substantive” discussions. In order to reduce misunderstandings and misperceptions, the official stated that one of the key goals was to “deepen their understanding of one another’s aims and intents, if possible.”
The US-China relationship, which has deteriorated recently after Beijing responded angrily to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel to self-governing Taiwan, will be the topic of discussion between the two leaders. After that, China closed off the majority of the lines of communication between the US and China, but there were still enough contacts to set up the meeting between Biden and Xi. US and Chinese officials talked about reestablishing communications during those discussions.
Since the president moved into the White House, Biden and Xi have spoken on the phone five times. When both were serving as their country’s vice presidents, they traveled widely together in both China and the United States.
#Chinese Foreign Ministry: #Beijing does not confirm #XiJinping‘s participation in the #G20 summit.
The meeting of G20 member countries will be held on the #Indonesian island of #Bali on November 15-16. pic.twitter.com/xEbsyZsGGf
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 10, 2022
Both come into the meeting on the heels of major political developments. In the US midterm elections, Biden performed better than anticipated, and the Chinese Communist Party elected Xi to an extraordinary third term. US officials refrained from speculating on how the political situations of the two leaders may impact the tone of their encounter. Instead, they arranged the sections that they thought would be on the table.
This includes the Taiwan problem, which Beijing asserts. In the past, Biden has pledged to deploy US military force to protect the island from an attack by the Chinese. This is one of the most divisive topics between Biden and Xi.
According to the official, Biden would also bring up issues related to human rights. China is charged by the US with perpetrating genocide against the Muslim minority in the western province of Xinjiang. Additionally, Biden will bring up what the US perceives as China’s damaging business practices. It’s uncertain if the topic of US taxes on Chinese imports will come up during the negotiations.
The president also intends to talk about potential areas of cooperation between the two nations, such as climate change. Additionally, he will bring up the ongoing provocations by North Korea and the war that Russia is waging in Ukraine, two issues where the US is looking for China to use its influence to stop additional bloodshed. The official declined to say what Biden would say about North Korea, stating that they did not want China to be aware of his talking points in advance.
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