President Joe Biden met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday for talks that may ease friction between the two superpowers over military conflicts, drug-trafficking and artificial intelligence. Biden welcomed the Chinese leader at the Filoli estate, a country house and gardens about 30 miles (48 km) south of San Francisco, where they will move later for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Quick Read
- Biden-Xi Meeting: U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met at the Filoli estate in San Francisco, aiming to ease tensions between their nations on issues like military conflicts, drug-trafficking, and artificial intelligence. It was their first face-to-face meeting in over a year.
- Discussion Topics: The leaders discussed a range of contentious issues, including Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s Ukraine invasion, North Korea, and human rights. No significant breakthroughs were expected.
- Meeting Dynamics: Biden and Xi emphasized understanding each other, with Biden seeking “no misconceptions or miscommunications.” Xi spoke of combating climate change but criticized “protectionism.”
- Anti-Xi Protests: Protesters gathered near the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, marching towards the APEC summit site with anti-CCP and pro-Hong Kong/Tibet signs.
- Expectations from Meeting: The White House expected major announcements on fentanyl flow reduction and reviving military communications between the U.S. and China.
- Iran, Election Interference, Fentanyl: Biden planned to press Xi on these issues, including China’s influence over Iran regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
- Economic and Political Context: The meeting occurred amid global economic challenges and geopolitical tensions. Biden’s focus was on maintaining U.S. commitments in the Indo-Pacific, while Xi, facing domestic economic challenges, sought to assure stability in China-U.S. relations.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden and Xi are holding a meeting on the APEC Summit’s sidelines
Newslooks- WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP)
President Joe Biden met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday for talks that may ease friction between the two superpowers over military conflicts, drug-trafficking and artificial intelligence.
Biden welcomed the Chinese leader at the Filoli estate, a country house and gardens about 30 miles (48 km) south of San Francisco, where they will move later for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The U.S. and Chinese leaders will be seeking to reduce friction in what many see as the world’s most important relationship, but deep progress on the vast differences separating them may have to wait for another day.
Officials on both sides of the Pacific have set expectations low as Biden and Xi are set to discuss Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea and human rights – areas where the leaders have been unable to resolve long-standing disagreements.
The two leaders last spoke a year ago, and since then, already fraught ties between the nations have been further strained.
The outcome of Wednesday’s talks could have far-reaching implications for an anxious world that is grappling with global economic cross-currents from the pandemic, wars in the Middle East and Europe, upcoming elections in Taiwan and more. Follow live updates.
Biden and Xi are stressing the need for their nations to strengthen mutual understanding while cautioning that their interests will sometimes conflict.
The pair opened their face-to-face meeting in the San Francisco Bay area with a solid handshake. Later, they sat at one long table together rather than at separate ones.
Even small details like floral arrangements were important for a meeting where protocol is of the utmost importance. Flowers on the table appeared to be evergreens.
Biden said the purpose of the meeting was to “understand each other.” He said, “As always, there’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions.” He added of Xi, “We’ve known each other for a long time. We haven’t always agreed.”
Biden also said that he wants “no misconceptions or miscommunications” and that the two leaders have to “ensure that competition doesn’t veer into conflict.”
Xi spoke of the need to strengthen cooperation to combat climate change but also condemned what he called rising “protectionism.”Biden and Xi outline goals for meeting
Biden says the aim of the APEC summit is for leaders to “understand each other.” Xi says they bear “heavy responsibilities” for the world.
The two leaders made the comments Wednesday after shaking hands in their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year.Biden-Xi meeting opens with handshake
Biden and Xi have opened their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year with a solid handshake ahead of talks with far-reaching implications for a world grappling with economic cross currents, wars in the Middle East and Europe, tensions in Taiwan and more.
The two leaders, meeting at a bucolic country estate outside San Francisco, are looking to get communications back on track after a tumultuous year and to show the world that while they are global economic competitors, they’re not locked in a winner-take-all faceoff.
Biden and Xi arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday where they will both participate in the (APEC) summit.
Leaders from the 21-country group – and hundreds of CEOs in San Francisco to court them – meet amid relative Chinese economic weakness, Beijing’s territorial feuds with neighbors, and a Middle East conflict that is dividing the United States from allies.
Experts say Xi will be looking for a smooth summit with Biden to show those at home concerned about the economy and dwindling foreign investment that he can successfully handle relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Since the two leaders last met, already fraught ties have been further strained by the U.S. downing of a Chinese spy balloon, differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China’s hacking of a Biden official’s emails and other incidents.Anti-Xi protesters march toward APEC site
A large crowd gathered in front of the Chinese consulate to condemn Xi has started marching toward Moscone Center, where main APEC events are being held.
They held signs reading “Free Hong Kong” and “Tibet belongs to Tibetans” and chanted “Free Tibet” and “Down with the CCP,” referring to the Chinese Communist Party. They started matching around 11 a.m. Wednesday local time.
Speakers implored the Biden administration to stand up to Xi and his human rights violations.White House expects major announcements from Xi-Biden meeting
Ahead of the meeting between Biden and Xi, senior White House officials said Biden would walk away from the talks with major announcements expected on curbing the flow of chemicals used in the production of fentanyl and concrete steps to revive military to military communications.
One senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview aspects of the meeting, said Wednesday’s talks will stand out from the last time Biden and Xi spoke a year ago in Bali.
The official said there weren’t concrete agreements coming out of Bali, unlike what is expected on Wednesday.
Efforts to carefully choreograph Xi’s visit may be upended in San Francisco despite efforts to drive homeless people from the streets. The route from the airport to the conference site was lined with demonstrators for and against China’s ruling Communist Party, an unusual sight for Xi, who last visited the United States in 2017.
The venue for the bilateral summit, far from the APEC conference location, offers the leaders a combination of security, serenity and remoteness.
Biden has sought direct diplomacy with Xi, betting that a personal relationship he has cultivated for a dozen years with the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong might salvage ties that are increasingly turning hostile.
Chong Ja Ian, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore, said the two sides are engaged in what Mao referred to during the Chinese civil war as “talk and fight, fight and talk”.
“That is, to talk while building up forces,” Chong said.
The White House hopes the meeting could set the stage for further talks.
“We’re all expecting that this will be a productive discussion today, and hopefully, a precursor to much more communication and dialogue between our two teams going forward,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters ahead of the meeting.
IRAN, ELECTION INTERFERENCE, FENTANYL
During the meeting, Biden is expected to press Xi to use China’s influence to urge Iran to avoid provocative action or encouraging its proxies to enter the fray in what, moves that could spread the Israel-Hamas conflict across the Middle East.
He is also expected to raise alleged Chinese operations to influence foreign elections, the status of U.S. citizens that Washington believes are wrongly detained in China and human rights.
U.S. officials expected concrete steps to restore staff-level conversations between the two countries on issues from military-to-military communications to reducing the flow of fentanyl, managing the growth of artificial intelligence technologies, and managing trade and climate.
Many of the chemicals used to make fentanyl come from China, U.S. officials say.
Before the meeting, both countries backed a new renewable energy target and said they would work to reduce methane and plastic pollution, a renewal of climate cooperate suspended after former U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022.
Biden, 80, presides over an economy that has outperformed expectations and most rich nations after the COVID-19 pandemic. He is seeking a second term in office.
He has corralled the nation’s traditional allies from Europe to Asia to confront Russia in Ukraine, although some have differences over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Xi, a decade Biden’s junior, has tightened control over policy, state leaders, the media and military and changing the constitution. But economic challenges have thrown the country off its three-decade growth trajectory.
Government officials across the region expect Beijing to test Washington in coming weeks, taking advantage of the United States’ perceived shift in focus on Ukraine and Israel as it pursues its own ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
Biden is expected to tell Xi that U.S. commitments in the Indo-Pacific are unchanged. China has worried its neighbors in recent years with steps in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and East China Sea, areas of international dispute.
What to know
What is APEC anyway?
Biden’s goal for Xi meeting is to get U.S.-China communications back to normal
San Francisco hopes to rid its image of a city in decline as it hosts APEC
A fragile global economy is at stake as Biden and Xi meetBiden and Xi stress need for mutual understanding
