Biden and Xi meet – but an incident overshadows the talks

Washington, Beijing Both leaders had friendly words for each other, even if the relations between their countries are stuck in the deepest crisis for decades. “I’m really glad to see you again,” said US President Joe Biden shortly before his meeting with China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping.

There’s nothing like meeting face-to-face after only interacting virtually during the pandemic. “I look forward to working with you,” Xi also said. Stable relations are “for the good of our countries and the world at large”.

The last handshake was five years ago, when Biden and Xi met at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Since then, US-China relations have only gone downhill. The meeting in Bali lasted three hours and could be the first step towards a new approach.

The most important finding of the meeting is: After all, we are talking to each other again. Biden wanted to encourage Xi at the G20 summit to find ways to end the war in Ukraine. No details of the meeting have leaked out yet, Biden will hold a press conference shortly.

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Most recently, the White House registered positively that Xi apparently distanced himself slightly from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who recently visited China, Xi spoke out against “the threat or use of nuclear weapons.” Against the background of the Ukraine war, this was seen as a diplomatic success both in Germany and in the USA. According to the Americans, a similar commitment was hoped for in Bali.

However, according to the first official statement by the Chinese side, this did not happen: It says that head of state and party leader Xi is very concerned about the current situation in Ukraine. He and President Biden would support the resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, the statement did not contain any statements on nuclear weapons. Despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which violates international law, the Chinese government has so far been “firmly” committed to its “partnership without borders” with Russia.

First meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi

Originally, Putin was also expected at the G20 summit, who has been heavily criticized internationally because of the war in Ukraine. However, the Kremlin boss is now being represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Pragmatism brings the world powers together

The US-China meeting is now demonstrating a symbolic solidarity while Putin is left out. Biden and Xi at least appeared open to mending the damaged relationship. Biden underscored the importance of “resolving our differences” and “preventing competition from turning into conflict.”

The fact that both men appeared together in front of the cameras before their appointment was a success given the circumstances – because that wasn’t actually planned and was decided at short notice.

Too many conflicts have built up: China’s backing for Putin is viewed with concern in the West. The trade war is weighing on the global economy, and the Chinese provocations against the self-governing island of Taiwan have high potential for escalation. Both sides wanted to “lower the temperature in an overheated relationship,” as former American diplomat Daniel R. Russel, a Biden adept who had accompanied him on previous trips to China, put it in the New York Times.

Both sides had made it clear in advance that no real breakthroughs were to be expected, rather an approach in nuances, an “understanding of where the respective red lines lie”, as Biden put it. The Chinese side, very business-oriented, spoke of the goal of a “win-win cooperation”.

Balinese

The list of issues between the US and China is long.

(Photo: AP)

After all, Washington and Beijing share strategic interests: climate policy, containing hunger crises, an end to the war in Ukraine and the nuclear threat from North Korea. Both parties had resumed their climate talks after a break. And before the G20 summit, the White House decided on several measures against “food insecurity”, which should strengthen supply chains in food production – an issue that also concerns the Chinese.

Security forces wanted to throw out a journalist

And yet on Bali it became clear how distant and alien both sides can be. The ten-person delegations each sat at two long tables, separated by bouquets of flowers, masked and at a great distance. Of course, that was mainly to do with the Covid protocol: Biden has already had an infection, Xi had not left his country for more than two years during the pandemic.

But when Biden and Xi appeared before the press together, an irritating incident ensued: a television journalist asked the US President if he would address human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. The US describes the alleged crimes against the Uyghur minority as genocide.

According to the AFP news agency, a Chinese security guard pulled on the journalist’s backpack, she lost her balance and was pushed towards the door. White House officials intervened and said the journalist should be left alone.

China is also militarily provoking and threatening the self-governing, democratically governed island of Taiwan in the South China Sea. In the last video call, Xi had warned Biden against interference in the Taiwan issue: “Those who play with fire will perish,” Xi said. It came just before the controversial visit to Taipei by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping

It is the first face-to-face meeting between the two since Joe Biden was elected.

(Photo: AP)

The visit of the senior US politician was condemned by Beijing as a provocation. The communist leadership sees Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and is striving for “unification”, if necessary using military force. Beijing reacted to the visit with massive military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait, stopped the climate dialogue with the USA and imposed sanctions on Pelosi.

China’s military build-up is causing increasing unrest in Washington – and Biden himself has not ruled out that the United States could defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion. After the summit with Xi, the United States immediately informed the government in Taipei, the White House said. The island should “feel safe and secure”.

“Biden is behaving like Trump”

Relations had already deteriorated massively under Donald Trump. The then president imposed punitive tariffs on hundreds of Chinese export goods. Biden leaves them in force as a means of pressure – and goes even further by specifically relying on technological decoupling. Only recently did the Biden government pass new export controls designed to slow Beijing’s technological and military advances.

“The Biden administration is behaving very similarly to Donald Trump’s administration,” Kennedy said. “Biden is just being much more focused and organized.” According to Kennedy, European partners like Germany are under “pressure to join the ranks”.

Xi came to the meeting as the most powerful Chinese leader in decades. The Congress of the Communist Party had secured him a third term. And Biden is also strengthened, his Democrats did better than forecast in the US midterm elections. That, in turn, increases the chances that Biden will run for a second term.

More: Damage Control in the Great Power Conflict – This is what the Biden-Xi meeting is all about

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