A possible conflict with Taiwan, a surveillance balloon on US territory, and departed pandas are causing a lot of discussion at the summit of heads of state.
Update from November 15th, 10:50 p.m.: Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met for the first time in a year amid US-China tensions and major international crises. Biden received Xi on Wednesday with a lengthy handshake at the Filoli country estate near the Californian city of San Francisco. “We have to ensure that competition does not degenerate into conflict,” said the US President at the start of the talks that lasted several hours.
Competition between rival economic and military powers must be “managed responsibly,” Biden added at the meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. In this way, “false assumptions and miscommunication” must be prevented. Xi said China and the US must not “turn their backs” on each other. “The planet is big enough for both countries to be successful,” the Chinese president added. He saw a “promising future” in the cooperation of both countries and spoke of the “most important bilateral relationship in the world”.
First meeting in a year: Joe Biden meets Xi Jinping in the USA
First report from November 15th: San Francisco – US President for a year Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping no longer spoke to each other. After twelve months of radio silence, the list of topics is loud dpa-Information is long – among other things, it is supposed to be about drug smuggling and a Chinese surveillance balloon in the United States as well as the question of whether Xi has a panda in his luggage.
Expectations for the meeting between the two heads of government are high. A personal conversation should prevent the breakdown in communication from becoming a real conflict. Biden and Xi have not seen each other since the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022. No other contact was made either. As the dpa reported, Biden made it clear before the meeting: For him it would be a success if both countries returned to a “normal course of exchange with each other” where you could simply “pick up the phone and talk to each other”.
After meeting between Biden and Xi: press conference in the USA without China
The conversation is scheduled to take place in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 15th, around the evening according to German time. Biden is planning a press conference afterwards, but alone without Xi. The US government expects the meeting to result in an agreement to combat drug smuggling into the United States. Above all, it is about steering the relationship between the two countries into an orderly direction and preventing the tough competition from drifting into a real conflict.
In the area of economics and trade it is loud dpa The trade conflict between Washington and Beijing is on the agenda. Biden left punitive tariffs against China in effect that his predecessor in office Donald Trump had introduced. In addition, they imposed USA Economic sanctions and export restrictions to make it more difficult for Beijing to access American technologies. However, both countries are closely intertwined economically. China is one of the three largest trading partners for the USA. A tense relationship between the two largest economies is bad for the global economy.
Drug smuggling in the USA: China is said to produce a drug 50 times stronger than heroin
Another point of contention between the USA and China is the drug fentanyl. The US government accuses China of contributing significantly to America’s drug epidemic through the production of fentanyl, which is entering the US in large quantities. The synthetic opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin. According to the US government, the drug is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 49 nationwide.
China’s attitude that Taiwan is part of its territory also harbors great potential for conflict. There are concerns that China could invade Taiwan like Russia invaded Ukraine. Biden has promised Taiwan military support from US troops in such an event. Beijing, in turn, prohibits any US “interference” in internal affairs.
Biden could call on Xi to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict and the Gaza war
The two current wars are also a likely topic of discussion between the two heads of government. Beijing’s attitude in Ukraine war is met with criticism because China appears neutral to the outside world, but at the same time is considered Russia’s most important partner and thus provides Moscow with support. At the same time, China is considered an important country for exerting influence on Russia due to its proximity to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Biden could try to persuade Xi to use this in the war with Ukraine.
In the Gaza war, China has influence on Tehran as an important buyer of Iranian oil. Iran supports Hamas and concerns are growing that the Gaza war could escalate into a larger conflict in the Middle East. Since the start of the Gaza war, pro-Iranian groups have increased attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq – the Americans responded with air strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Syria. The situation is tense. Here too, Biden could personally call on Xi to have a de-escalatory effect.
“Panda diplomacy”: USA hopes for animals from China
A giant Chinese balloon will also be discussed in San Francisco. At the beginning of the year, a Chinese surveillance balloon appeared over the USA. At that time, the USA accused Beijing of a large-scale espionage program and shot down the balloon. China rejected the allegations, spoke of a weather balloon that had gone off course and complained of an overreaction. The incident sent relations between the countries to a low point.
Finally, a panda could play a crucial role in the meeting between Biden and Xi. The animals are considered symbols of friendship between China and the countries to which they are loaned. There has been “panda diplomacy” for many years. The USA recently suffered a setback here: a few days ago, the zoo in Washington had to say goodbye to its beloved pandas, who were ordered back to China. Some people hope that the meeting of presidents could at least bring a concrete result at this point.
As the daily News reported that despite the major conflicts, both countries have a vested interest in ensuring that relations do not deteriorate again, according to Bonnie Glaser from the German Marshall Fund. Among other things, the presidential election is imminent in the USA. China also has many of its own construction sites. “China has economic problems and would like to slow down US efforts to cut off the People’s Republic from access to high technology,” said Glaser. (Lisa Mariella Löw)
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