San Francisco:
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on Wednesday for a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, seeking to reduce friction in what many see as the world’s most dangerous rivalry.
The leaders of the world’s two largest economies have known each other for more than a decade and have chatted for hours in six interactions since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. But they have met in person only once since then, and Xi has not visited the United States since 2017, when Donald Trump was president.
What issues are they likely to discuss?
The White House says the goal of the summit, which will be held at an unannounced location in the San Francisco Bay Area, is to boost communication to prevent an intense rivalry from turning into conflict. The meeting is expected to cover global issues ranging from the Middle East conflict to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s ties with Russia, Taiwan, human rights, artificial intelligence and “fair” trade and economic relations.
Biden is expected to tell Xi that the US remains committed to its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific despite Chinese pressure on democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and in the South and East -China Sea. . He will also express a specific commitment to the security of the Philippines, US officials said.
What offers can we expect?
The White House says Washington is looking for specific results and hopes to see progress in rebuilding military-to-military ties with China and combating trafficking in the powerful synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, the use of which has become a scourge in the United States. Any deal on fentanyl would likely require Washington to lift human rights sanctions on China’s forensic police institute in return.
Biden said Tuesday that his goal would be to resume normal communications with China, including military-to-military contacts.
With Taiwan elections due in early 2024, political analysts expect China will seek US assurances that it will do nothing to encourage pro-independence elements, while Xi also hopes to convince Biden to ease tariffs and export controls aimed at maintain independence. the most advanced semiconductors are not sent to China. At a separate dinner with business leaders, the Chinese president will also try to boost weak investment by American companies in China.
Leaders could highlight plans to expand commercial flights between the two countries and policy experts said they could take steps to ease restrictions on visas for journalists, which would benefit both sides.
Biden is also expected to urge China to use its influence over Iran to avoid widening the conflict in the Middle East.
But no one expects a reset of the relationship or a grand agreement that will dramatically change the way the countries see each other. “We are still in a sustained period of competition and tension,” said Richard Fontaine of Washington’s Center for a New American Security. “There will be no major breakthroughs, no real substantive change.”
What impact will the meeting have on the markets?
Market participants will remain keenly focused on the talks to gauge sentiment between the two governments.
The 21 APEC members and the world are running out of hope for an easing of US-China tensions, and progress on that front would be viewed positively, but political analysts said any improvement in mood could only be temporary. The elections in Taiwan early next year and the US presidential elections of November 2024, which could mean a return of Trump, promise a year full of uncertainty.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)