President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to restore some military-to-military communications between their armed forces as the two leaders met for hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
Quick Read
- Restoration of Military Communications: President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restore some military-to-military communications during their meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Both sides committed to resuming talks under the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, aiming to improve safety in the air and at sea.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Engagement: The agreement will enable U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet his Chinese counterpart. It also facilitates lower-level engagements, including operational interactions between ship drivers.
- Xi’s Statement on Military Dialogues: Xi stated that he and Biden agreed to resume high-level military dialogues based on equity and respect. This comes after concerns about the lack of communications, especially with increasing incidents between U.S. and Chinese ships and aircraft.
- Decade of U.S.-China Military Relations: Over the past decade, the U.S. and China have had regular meetings and visits to improve military relations. Despite this, tensions persisted due to the U.S. pivot to the Pacific and China’s actions in the South China Sea.
- Impact of the Pandemic and Pelosi’s Visit: Military contacts dropped off during the pandemic and worsened after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, leading to a suspension of military contacts by China.
- Maritime Agreement and Fentanyl Production: Resuming talks under the maritime agreement is seen as a positive step. Biden and Xi also reached agreements on curbing illicit fentanyl production and engaging in intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence.
- Experts on Agreements: Experts view these agreements as significant for U.S.-China relations, offering a way for more detailed discussions.
- Personal Moments: During the meeting, Biden wished Xi’s wife a happy birthday and engaged in some chitchat, sharing memories of past meetings.
- Protesters in San Francisco: A large crowd protesting against Xi and China’s human rights violations marched towards the Moscone Center where APEC events were being held.
- Expectations from the Meeting: Senior White House officials anticipated major announcements from the Biden-Xi meeting, particularly on fentanyl production and military communications.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden, Xi agree to restore some military-to-military communications, curb fentanyl production
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to restore some military-to-military communications between their armed forces as the two leaders met for hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
Both sides pledged cooperation that would bring the U.S and China closer to resuming regular talks under what’s known as the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which until 2020 had been used to improve safety in the air and on the sea.
A senior U.S. official said after the Biden-Xi meeting ended that the military communication agreements mean that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin can meet with his Chinese counterpart once that person is named. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
This also opens the door for agreements at less-senior levels, including allowing the Hawaii-based commander of U.S. Pacific forces to engage with counterpart theater commanders, the official said. The agreement further will likely mean operational engagements between ship drivers and others at a much lower levels in each country.
Xi said after the meeting that he and Biden agreed to resume high-level military dialogues on the basis of equity and respect, according to a statement released by China Central Television, the state broadcaster.
The agreement comes after U.S. military leaders had expressed repeated concerns about the lack of communications with China, particularly as the number of unsafe or unprofessional incidents between the two nations’ ships and aircraft has spiked.
According to the Pentagon’s most recent report on China’s military power, Beijing has “denied, canceled or ignored” military-to-military communications and meetings with the Pentagon for much of last year and this year. The report warns that the lack of such talks “raises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiraling into crisis or conflict.”
The U.S. views military relations with China as critical to avoiding any missteps and maintaining a peaceful Indo-Pacific region. Here’s a look at the often fraught relationship between the U.S. and Chinese militaries.
A DECADE OF TALKS AND VISITS
More than 15 years ago, the Defense Department was making progress in a growing effort to improve relations with Beijing as both sides stepped up military activities in the Indo-Pacific.
The U.S. was concerned about Beijing’s dramatic and rapid military growth. And China was suspicious of America’s expanding presence in the region. In an effort to improve transparency and communication, defense leaders from the two countries were meeting regularly. And in a 2008 speech in Singapore, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted that relations with China had improved, and that a long-sought direct telephone link between the U.S. and China had finally been established. He said he had used it to speak with the defense minister.
He and other defense chiefs, Joint Chiefs chairmen and regional high-level U.S. commanders routinely traveled to China over the next decade, and Chinese defense leaders came to the Pentagon. “We don’t want miscalculations and misunderstandings and misinterpretations. And the only way you do that is you talk to each other,” noted then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in 2013.
The following year Hagel made a historic visit to Yuchi Naval Base and became the first foreign visitor to go aboard China’s first aircraft carrier as it was docked at the base.
The Defense Department’s 2014 report on China’s military power referred to “sustained positive momentum” in U.S. ties with Beijing, and noted there was a growing number of agreements, conferences, calls and military exercises. It said the two militaries established new channels for dialogue and signed two agreements to improve transparency and reduce the risks of unintended miscalculations by ships and aircraft in the Pacific.
BUT TENSIONS PERSISTED
Even as military leaders were meeting, the Obama administration’s widely touted “pivot to the Pacific,” which added troops, ships and other U.S. military activity in the region, triggered vehement criticism from Beijing. And China’s aggressive campaign to militarize a number of manmade islands in the South China Sea alarmed the U.S. and other allies in the Pacific.
Allies worried that China would seek to limit international transit through the region, and that the islands could be used as bases for military action. In 2018, the Trump administration abruptly withdrew an invitation for Beijing to participate in the military exercise known as Rim of the Pacific, citing what it called strong evidence that China had deployed weapons systems on the islands. China has argued that it is within its rights to build up defenses in the South China Sea on what it believes is its sovereign territory.
The Pentagon routinely complained that there was little tangible progress in the press for greater transparency in China’s military ambitions and its burgeoning defense budget. And China bristled at America’s continued support for Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing views as its own.
More broadly, the U.S. issued sharp condemnations of China’s escalating cyberattacks targeting government agencies and breaches and cyberespionage into sensitive defense programs.
THEN CAME THE PANDEMIC AND PELOSI
Direct military contacts with Beijing dropped off during the COVID-19 pandemic, due both to travel restrictions and tensions over China’s potential responsibility for the deadly virus that began within its borders. And in August 2022, Beijing suspended all military contacts with the U.S., in the wake of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Pelosi was the highest-ranking American lawmaker to visit Taiwan since 1997, when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich traveled there. And her visit sparked a surge in military maneuvers by China. Beijing dispatched warships and aircraft across the median line in the Taiwan Strait, claiming the de facto boundary did not exist, fired missiles over Taiwan itself, and challenged established norms by firing missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
U.S. officials suggested China was simply using Pelosi’s visit as a convenient excuse to cut off ties, which were strained by other points of contention, including economic sanctions.
But the lack of communications heightened worries about an increase in what the Pentagon calls risky Chinese aircraft and warship incidents in the past two years. Officials noted that even as tensions with Russia have spiked over the war in Ukraine, military commanders have continued to use a telephone line to deconflict operations in Syria.
The Defense Department last month released video footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the past two years — more than the total number over the previous decade. Defense officials said the Chinese flights were risky and aggressive, but stopped short of calling most of them unsafe — a term used in egregious cases. They said this was part of a larger trend of regional intimidation by China that could accidentally lead to conflict.
Carolyn Bartholomew, chairwoman of the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said a key goal for the administration should be to get a commitment from the Chinese government to scale back on such dangerous incidents.
THE MARITIME AGREEMENT
Bonnie Lin, director of the China Power project at the Center for Strategic and International Security, a Washington-based think tank, said it was important to restart the talks under the maritime agreement.
Resumption “would be a signal that the two sides can work together more,” Lin said at a CSIS forum Tuesday.
Biden and Xi agree on curbing fentanyl production
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for more than two hours before breaking for lunch Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference.
They reached agreements on several key areas that include curbing the production of illicit fentanyl and resuming military-to-military communications, according to a senior Biden administration official. They also agreed to engage in intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence and add direct flights between the two countries, according to a Chinese state broadcaster.
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.
Experts say agreements have significance for US-China relations
Experts on China-U.S. relations say the agreements between Biden and Xi will have a significance in the future of the two countries’ relationship.
Zoe Liu, a fellow for China studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, said the agreements on fentanyl and military to military dialogues are “positive signs indicating both countries aim to put a floor to prevent the bilateral relationship from further deteriorating.”
But, Liu said, “these agreements will not change the structural challenges in the bilateral relations, but it paves the way for more detailed working-level discussions, which is more important.”
Zhang Yang, an assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service, said the visit is symbolically significant for Xi.
Zhang said Xi wants to make it clear that he’s the one who makes key decisions about Chinese foreign policy. But he also wants to signal to the Chinese people that Biden respects him and that he’s been handling the relationship well.Biden helps remind Xi of his wife’s birthday
Biden and Xi’s meeting Wednesday was mostly business, but it wasn’t all serious.
During their meeting, President Joe Biden took a moment to extend birthday wishes to Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This gesture was noted by a senior official in the Biden administration. Coincidentally, Biden, also born in November, is approaching his 81st birthday on Monday.
Xi, engrossed in his work, seemed to need a gentle reminder of this personal occasion. He admitted to Biden, somewhat sheepishly, that his intense workload had led him to momentarily forget about his wife’s upcoming birthday.
The two leaders also engaged in lighter conversation, reminiscing about past encounters, as shared by the U.S. official. In terms of their official discussions, Biden and Xi reached consensus on several critical issues. They agreed to initiate intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence and collaborate on counternarcotics efforts. High-level military dialogues are set to resume, based on mutual respect and equity, and plans to introduce direct flights between their countries were also made.
Both leaders recognized the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, as per a statement from the state broadcaster. For Xi, pivotal topics included Taiwan and the U.S. sanctions impacting Chinese products and businesses. He called for the U.S. to cease arming Taiwan and to support peaceful unification with the self-governed island, emphasizing the sensitive nature of this issue in their bilateral relationship.
Xi also expressed concerns over U.S. export controls, investment screenings, and sanctions, highlighting their detrimental impact on China’s legitimate interests. He urged the U.S. to reconsider its stance and provide a non-discriminatory environment conducive to Chinese businesses.
Additionally, Biden and Xi concurred on measures to curb the production of illicit fentanyl and enhance military-to-military communications. This agreement, particularly regarding fentanyl, is seen as a significant setback for Latin American drug traffickers. The reinstatement of military communications will involve conversations between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, as well as between other high-ranking military officials, potentially extending to lower-level engagements. Biden emphasized the need for these interactions to be regular and institutionalized, rather than occasional or discretionary.
Biden gives thumb’s up when asked about progress of talks
After lunch, Biden after took a short walk on the property with Xi, winding along a brick path where the two leaders were able to get a good look at the hillside and property’s impressive topiary.
Asked by reporters how the meeting was going, Biden responded with a thumb’s up and said the talks were going well.Biden-Xi lunch menu includes ravioli and Carolina gold rice pilaf
Biden is having a working lunch with Xi featuring such dishes as pilaf made from a style of rice popular in South Carolina.
The pair met for around two hours and 20 minutes, then took a break before beginning the meal.
More discussions are likely to come after lunch. In the meantime, though, neither side will go hungry.
According to the White House, the menu featured herbed ricotta ravioli, artichoke crisps, tarragon roasted heritage chicken, Carolina gold rice pilaf and charred broccolini and Brussels sprouts. Dessert consisted of almond meringue cake, praline buttercream and Concord grape sauce.
First round of talks ends after more than 2 hours
The White House says Biden and Xi finished their first round of talks after more than two hours. The expanded bilateral meeting, which concluded at 1:35 p.m. local time in California, included Biden, Xi and a dozen government officials for each country.
After a short break, the two sides reconvened for a working lunch at 2:07 p.m., the White House said. The lunch includes Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Xi is participating in the lunch with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and chief of staff Cai Qi.Official Chinese news service blames US for problems in relationship
To the domestic audience in China, Beijing continues to blame the U.S. for problems in the bilateral relations and urges Washington to “establish correct views” of China.
The official news service Xinhua said in a series of editorials that Washington should walk out of its “zero-sum” mentality and expand cooperation to further stabilize and improve bilateral relations.
Beijing has expressed hope that Washington would respond with “concrete actions.”
Beijing has voiced its aspirations for Washington to take decisive and tangible measures. “We are optimistic that the U.S.’s recent positive attitudes are not merely strategic maneuvers or opportunistic tactics,” stated an editorial from Xinhua. The hope is that verbal commitments will transform into solid policies and actions.
In preparation for the Biden-Xi dialogue, White House senior officials anticipated significant outcomes, particularly in reducing the chemicals used in fentanyl production and revitalizing military communication channels.
The venue of the Biden-Xi discussions, the Filoli Historic House and Garden, might be recognized by fans of 1980s television or enthusiasts of Michael Douglas’ work. This verdant estate, featuring a Georgian revival-style mansion and an English Renaissance-style garden, spans 16 acres and is set within a 654-acre property in Woodside, California, roughly 25 miles from San Francisco.
Constructed in 1917 for the Bourn and Roth families, Filoli has transitioned into a site maintained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, usually accessible to the public. The estate has been featured in David Fincher’s 1997 film “The Game” starring Michael Douglas, and in the pilot for the 1981 ABC series “Dynasty.”
During their meeting, Xi remarked, “I firmly believe that rivalry between major countries isn’t the dominant trend of our era and doesn’t address the challenges that China, the United States, or the world faces. Our planet has ample space for both countries to thrive. The success of one nation can be an opportunity for the other.” This underscored the leaders’ emphasis on developing a mutual understanding.
Biden and Xi are stressing the need for their nations to strengthen mutual understanding while cautioning that their interests will sometimes conflict.
Biden and Xi initiated their direct meeting in the San Francisco Bay area with a firm handshake. They then convened around a single elongated table, diverging from the norm of sitting separately.
Attention to detail, such as the choice of evergreen flowers for table arrangements, underscored the significance of protocol in this gathering.
Biden emphasized the goal of the meeting as fostering mutual understanding, highlighting the irreplaceable value of direct interaction. Reflecting on his long-standing acquaintance with Xi, he acknowledged their history of disagreements but underscored the need to prevent competition from escalating into conflict.
Xi addressed the urgency of enhancing collaborative efforts to tackle climate change, while also expressing concerns over what he termed as increasing “protectionism.”
Both leaders outlined their objectives for the APEC summit, with Biden focusing on achieving mutual comprehension among leaders, and Xi emphasizing the weighty responsibilities they hold for the world.
This marked their first in-person engagement in over a year, setting the stage for discussions with profound global implications, considering the existing economic, geopolitical, and regional tensions, including the aftermath of the U.S. downing a Chinese spy balloon and differences over Taiwan.
Concurrently, a significant protest unfolded in front of the Chinese consulate, with demonstrators marching towards the Moscone Center, where major APEC events were taking place. Protesters voiced demands for Hong Kong’s freedom and Tibet’s autonomy, urging the U.S. administration to confront Xi over human rights issues.
In anticipation of the Biden-Xi meeting, White House officials projected significant outcomes, especially regarding measures to control fentanyl production and restore military communications, marking a contrast from their previous dialogue in Bali.
