Xi and Biden still wide apart but talking again
Renewed military-to-military talks was the main outcome of the summit between the US and Chinese presidents in San Francisco. Both want to avoid conflict by resuming communications. No joint statement was made after their four-hour meeting. Xi's supporters and people protesting for human rights in China clashed in the California city.
San Francisco (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The much-anticipated meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping lasted four hours yesterday in San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The two leaders are trying to ease tensions between the two powers after the relationship got significantly worse over the past year.
The issues of Chinese spy balloons, China's growing nuclear arsenal, and the US ban on the export of advanced microchips to China have divided the two countries.
The two sides agreed to resume military-to-military communications and high-level phone calls to control the competition between the two powers after they stopped in the summer of 2022.
They also agreed to set up a joint working group to address the issue of drug trafficking.
An agreement was also reached between the respective special envoys for climate on working together to reduce emissions from fossil fuels and support global efforts to triple renewable energy production by 2030.
US President Biden said the discussions were constructive and productive. He emphasised that a lack of communication was “how accidents happen”.
However, meeting with reporters after the summit, Biden again used the word "dictator" to refer to Xi, as he had done earlier this year, angering Beijing.
Even on the Taiwan issue, the gap remains wide. Xi has demanded that Washington stop arming the rebel island and support the peaceful reunification of China.
Biden, on the other hand, said the United States opposes any unilateral change to the status quo by either side and called for restraint by the People's Liberation Army.
The two leaders met at the historic resort Filoli Garden in the south of San Francisco.
In his opening remarks, Biden said meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful, adding that, “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. And we also have to manage it responsibly”.
Xi said that major-country competition is not the prevailing trend in current times and cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States or the world at large. Xi also said: “I firmly believe in the promising future of the bilateral relationship.”
The talks between the two leaders covered wide-ranging topics, including bilateral trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea, fentanyl control, climate change, the war in Gaza, artificial intelligence, and human rights.
Reaching a consensus is not an easy task, but both expect to resume normal channels of communication, especially military talks between their militaries amid rising tensions.
For the summit, San Francisco police imposed tight security measures with fences along both sides of the streets. The tents of homeless people in the city centre were removed.
Hundreds of Xi supporters lined up the streets waving Chinese flags and playing patriotic songs with loudspeakers. Local sources say that such demonstrations were organised by the Chinese embassy. For their part, Xi's supporters refused to talk to the media.
Both the people who welcomed Xi's visit and advocates for human rights in China gathered near the San Francisco airport, along the highway Xi's motorcade passed by, and outside the hotel where the Chinese president was staying.
The standoff between pro-Chinese government groups and protesters lasted for hours with some participants clashing.
Chinese dissidents and petitioners who lost their homes and land in their hometown in China protested against Xi's visit. Groups from Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong also joined the protest in front of the Chinese consulate in San Francisco.
Xi Jinping's last visit to the United States was in 2017, when former US President Donald Trump received the Chinese leader at his private Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
After six years, the competition between the United States and China is becoming increasingly fierce, not only over trade and commerce, but also in terms of cutting-edge technology and geopolitical strategy.
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