Biden and China’s XI did agree on a few things, but they did not hit a reset
The U.S.-China relations in the wake of the recent tensions on panda conservation and the Iran-Israeli nuclear test: a welcome message
“We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples,” Xi said Wednesday during a dinner speech with business leaders.
If the United States and China were not able to change their relationship, then they at least seemed to allay fears about pandas.
“However, U.S.-China relations have shifted away from the phase which counted on bilateral trade and investments as ‘the stabilizer’. She said that the structural challenge remained unresolved.
In China, the economic growth since then has been less impressive to many analysts. According to Yu Jie, a research fellow on China at Chatham House think tank in London, the goal of this visit is to send a welcome message to businesses in the U.S.
The issue of Taiwan featured prominently at Wednesday’s Biden-Xi meeting. Taiwan was “the most potentially dangerous” issue in the relationship according to a senior U.S. official.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to feature in high-level bilateral talks. At Wednesday’s meeting, Biden urged Xi to continue to withhold military support to Moscow.
One recent testing case may be the role both the U.S. and China play in the Middle East crisis. Biden asked Beijing to urge Iran to take steps as the Israel-Hamas war drags on. Beijing said they had spoken to Tehran about the risks in the region.
China received from the agreement a substance called Fentanyl. The Trump administration believes that the lab was involved in human rights abuses, and has imposed sanctions on it.
A senior Biden administration official said the administration had worked with the Chinese government to target specific companies. “In many respects the proof is in the pudding here. But these are important steps.”
SAN FRANCISCO — President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shook hands, took a stroll through a garden and generally made nice on Wednesday when they met face-to-face for the first time in a year.
Taiwan is a major factor in the bilateral relations according to a Chinese foreign policy expert. “But I think both sides are quite aware and not interested in adding any element of instability,” she said. I think that leaders and political candidates are aware of the potential dangers, but don’t really pay much attention to them.
Weiss pointed out that political candidates on Taiwan are aware of the risk if things get out of control.
What the Chinese prefer to talk about: Beyond the positive spin, what the U.S. can learn from the Biden-Xi meeting
An administration official familiar with the discussion said that the Chinese preferred a peaceful reunification with the self-governed island.
The official said that he had heard rumors that China was going to use military force against Taiwan in 2041. “And then he basically said, there are no such plans,” the administration official said. NPR has made a phone call to the China government.
Speaking at an event in San Francisco ahead of the Biden-Xi meeting on Wednesday, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong said “the entire country” was tuning in.
“The only concern is that [if] these two major powers cannot reach agreement, cannot work together, [it] will negatively affect the region,” he said through an interpreter.
They might not like what they hear, they might not like what they’re told, and they might not agree on a lot of things. If they’re not talking, if they’re not engaging, and if they’re not asking for clarifications, then the possibilities of miscalculation and mistakes go up. Neither side wants that.
You can be cynical and say that having discussions and talking don’t solve problems, but you wouldn’t be wrong. But not talking to each other is no longer a low-risk proposition,” said Dave Finkelstein, director for China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs at the Center for Naval Analyses, an independent research institute in Arlington, Virginia.
Xi also praised the achievements of this meeting on Wednesday evening. The Chinese leader told the U.S. business leaders that there was plenty of room for their corporations to succeed and that they were able to help each other achieve win-win outcomes.
But beyond the positive spin, can this meeting help alter the trajectory of the bilateral relationship? There are several take-aways from Wednesday’s meeting.
On Wednesday evening, Biden told a news conference that he had not shied away from taking a tough tone with his Chinese counterpart. He again used the word “dictator” to describe his Chinese counterpart.
Top among them is an agreement to resume high-level military-to-military dialogue. These communications were suspended last year following former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
“That’s been worrisome,” Biden said. Accidents happen through that. Administration officials say this has been a top issue in talks with China in recent months, and Biden expressed relief that there was finally agreement to get the talks back up and running.
Beijing’s return to the national park: Cooperation, anti-narcotics and people-to-people exchanges for the National Zoo’s pandas
The bears have long been the symbol of the U.S.-China friendship since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. Later, Beijing loaned the pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to panda conservation programs.
The National Zoo’s three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, eight days ago began their long trip to China. After their departure, only four pandas are left in the United States, in the Atlanta Zoo.
Relations improved after Beijing sent their leader to meet with Biden in San Francisco. The two men met for about four hours Wednesday at the picturesque Filoli Historic House & Garden, where they agreed to cooperate on anti-narcotics, resume high-level military communications and expand people-to-people exchanges.
The National Zoo’s exchange agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association had been set to expire in early December and negotiations to renew or extend the deal did not produce results.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face meeting in over a year on Wednesday in San Francisco. Biden urged Xi to continue to withhold military support to Russia. The issue of Taiwan featured prominently at Wednesday’s meeting. Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong said ” the entire country” was tuning in to the meeting.