Biden and Xi: A Summit of Contrasting Worldviews
On November 15, 2023, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a much-anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, California. The meeting, the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since last year, was seen as a crucial opportunity to address the complex and increasingly strained relationship between the two global superpowers.
The summit covered a wide range of issues, including trade, human rights, Taiwan, and Russia. Biden and Xi agreed to continue to engage in high-level dialogue and to work together to address common challenges. However, they also made clear that they have significant differences of opinion on a number of important issues.
On trade, Biden and Xi agreed to work together to strengthen economic ties between the US and China. They also pledged to address trade imbalances and to continue to work on issues such as intellectual property rights and access to markets.
On human rights, Biden raised concerns about China’s human rights record, particularly its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province and its crackdown on freedom of speech and press. Xi defended China’s actions, emphasizing its efforts to combat terrorism and promote social stability.
On Taiwan, Xi reiterated China’s commitment to the “one China” policy, which holds that Taiwan is a part of China. Biden reaffirmed the US’s long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” towards Taiwan, which means that the US does not explicitly say whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. This reaffirmation of the long “Strategic Ambiguity” goes against comments Biden made about the subject earlier this year.
On Russia, Biden and Xi discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine. Biden called on China to use its influence to pressure Russia to end the war. Xi said that China was committed to promoting peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The outcome of the Biden-Xi summit was mixed. On the one hand, the two leaders agreed to continue to engage in high-level dialogue and to work together on common challenges. On the other hand, they also made clear that they have significant differences of opinion on a number of important issues. It remains to be seen whether the summit will lead to any concrete progress in US-China relations.
The summit was a significant event in the US-China relationship, and it will hopefully have a lasting impact on the trajectory of relations between the two countries. Only time will tell whether the summit will be seen as a turning point in US-China relations or simply a brief respite in a long-standing rivalry.
Click here for more political news stories.
RELATED
