Almost exactly 12 months since their last meeting, the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, whose relations have been burdened by differences of opinion on a range of issues, will meet again on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden hopes a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping will restore “normal” communication between the two sides.
Since last year’s meeting held in Indonesia, relations between Beijing and Washington have experienced new turmoil, especially due to February’s events surrounding China’s mysterious balloon over US territory. According to the Politico website distrust grew between the two superpowers, giving rise to fears of a military clash. However, recent weeks have seen intense diplomatic contact between governments in an effort to ease tensions.
The summit was held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council summit, which was held in San Francisco. You arrive there on Tuesday shortly before 15:00 local time (midnight CET).
The American side did not announce the exact location of the meeting with Biden for security reasons, according to the Voice of America server, it will be a historical complex in the southern Californian city. According to the server, the meeting will last four hours and include a work lunch.
Ahead of the meeting, Chinese diplomacy urged the United States not to try to change China and harm its interests. Most interesting in this regard is America’s cooperation with Taiwan, which Beijing claims as one of its provinces, even though Taiwan has functioned as an independent democracy for decades.
In addition to these issues, Biden also wants to appeal to the Chinese leadership regarding Iran, with which China recently established a trade partnership. Washington wants the US to use this relationship to prevent Tehran from inciting conflict in the Middle East, just as the US asked Iran to take action against Russia and their aggression in Ukraine.
In addition to these topics, the negotiations should also include trade relations, which, according to US government officials, they do not want to be disrupted.
A resolution of the protracted dispute is not expected at Wednesday’s meeting, with both sides previously talking about “stabilizing” relations and improving communication. “Going back to the normal way of corresponding, being able to pick up the phone and talk to each other when there’s a crisis,” Biden said on Tuesday when asked what he wanted from the outcome of the talks.
He also mentioned safeguarding communications between the Chinese and US militaries, which have been disrupted since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year. Recently, the US military has repeatedly reported clashes between US and Chinese troops in the South China Sea region, which they said was worrying.
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