US President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday, the 15th of November, to discuss issues that could ease frictions between the two powers over military conflicts, drug trafficking and artificial intelligence, reports Reuters.
Meanwhile, officials on both sides of the Pacific have little hope of improvement, with Biden and Xi scheduled to discuss Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s war in Ukraine, North Korea, and human rights – areas where the two leaders have long been unable to resolve differences.
Biden and Xi arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday, where they were due to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have arrived in San Francisco for talks. They will meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. pic.twitter.com/K8kF36kNKd
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 15, 2023
Xi and Biden are expected to meet at a secure and secluded property near San Francisco, chosen for its security and peace, according to Reuters. White House spokesman John Kirby said
he hoped the two leaders would have a productive and frank conversation.
According to Reuters, during the meeting, Biden is expected to urge Xi to use China’s influence to deter Iran from taking provocative actions in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Other issues on the table include concerns about China’s “influence operations” in foreign elections and the status of US citizens detained in China.
US officials are expecting concrete solutions to revive staff-level relationships between the two countries on issues ranging from military communications to fentanyl control, artificial intelligence, trade and climate governance. Reuters reports that, according to US officials, many of the fentanyl precursor chemicals are sourced from China.
According to Reuters, regional officials predict that Beijing will use the US focus on Ukraine and Israel to further its ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region as a challenge to Washington.
US officials, for their part, expect Biden to assure Xi during the meeting that US commitments in the Indo-Pacific region will remain unchanged, addressing concerns over China’s controversial actions in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea. Biden is also expected to underline concrete commitments on security in the Philippines.
Read also: Israel agrees to implement humanitarian “pauses” under Biden pressure
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