Biden aims to rekindle relationship with China’s Xi during summit in Indonesia
high-stakes G-20 summit of the world’s top economies in Bali, or, at the very least, arrive at a place of mutual understanding about how not cross each other’s red lines.
“I’ve always had straightforward discussions with him,” Biden said. “There’s never any – any miscalculation about what each of us – where each of us stand.”
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What’s at stake?
Much has changed since Biden traveled to Beijing to meet with Xi in 2011, and Xi made his reciprocal visit in 2012 to Washington.
Xi called Biden a “friend” during the Democrat’s trip to China, and Biden told Xi he was “impressed” with his host’s grasp on knowledge of history, openness and candor.
The U.S. now considers China its biggest strategic and economic competitor, and experts worry the relationship is teetering on the edge.
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What Biden wants to address
At least four issues are bound to arise:
- Taiwan: Biden has said he will raise concerns about Xi’s desire to reunify China with Taiwan.
- Fair trade: The president plans to have a robust discussion with Xi about maintaining access to free and fair trade in Southeast Asia.
- Climate change: Coming off a United Nations climate change summit in Egypt, Biden is also expected to prod China to move more quickly to reduce its methane emissions.
- North Korea: Biden also wants Xi to exert his influence with North Korea, which has been testing missiles near the border of U.S. ally and Chinese trading partner South Korea.
Xi recently won a third, five-year term as president.
“There’s no way for the world to work without the United States and China having a diplomatic relationship,” Murphy said. “We have growing, enormous, important differences.”
“It is likely we will be adversaries, in many ways, over the next 20 years,” he said. “But we need to have a relationship with China. We do have mutual interests.”
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