U.S. President Joe Biden is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping today, Wednesday, for the first time in a year, in talks that may alleviate tensions between the two rival superpowers concerning military conflicts, drug trade, and artificial intelligence. Biden and Xi are expected to discuss issues related to Taiwan, the South China Sea, the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korea, and human rights—topics on which the two leaders have been unable to resolve their long-standing differences.
However, achieving tangible progress in resolving the vast disputes between the two economic giants may require waiting for another time. Officials on both sides of the Pacific have set low expectations for this meeting.
San Francisco
Biden and Xi arrived in San Francisco yesterday, Tuesday, where they are scheduled to hold discussions on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Leaders from the 21-member group and hundreds of executives are convening in San Francisco amidst a weak Chinese economy and ongoing regional conflicts between China and its neighbors, as well as a crisis in the Middle East that is causing divisions between the United States and its allies.
Xi's visit to San Francisco, Northern California, may face challenges due to disturbances in the city, despite efforts to clear the streets of the homeless. Demonstrators both supporting and opposing China's ruling Communist Party lined the route from the airport to the conference site, an unusual scene for Xi, who last visited the United States in 2017.
During the meeting, which could last for hours, Biden is expected to press Xi to use Beijing's influence to urge Iran not to take provocative actions or encourage its proxies to participate in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in order to avoid regional escalation of the war. The meeting is also expected to highlight China's "influence operations" in foreign elections and the situations of Americans whom Washington believes are being arbitrarily detained in China.
U.S. officials also expect concrete steps to be taken toward resuming talks between the two countries on issues including military communications, reducing the flow of fentanyl, managing the growth of artificial intelligence technologies, trade, and climate matters. American officials indicate that many chemicals used to produce fentanyl originate from China.
