Biden to meet China’s Xi Jinping at G20 amid strained relations

First in-person talks between the 2 leaders since Biden took workplace purpose to ‘deepen traces of communication’, US says.

US President Joe Biden speaks just about with Chinese language chief Xi Jinping from the White Home in November, 2021. The 2 leaders are scheduled to satisfy in individual on the G20 assembly in Bali, Indonesia, subsequent week [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

United States President Joe Biden will meet Chinese language President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit subsequent week, the White Home has introduced, in what would be the first in-person talks between the 2 leaders since Biden took workplace in early 2021.

In an announcement on Thursday, the White Home stated Biden would communicate with Xi on November 14 in Bali, Indonesia, about “efforts to keep and deepen traces of communication” between the 2 nations at a time of rising tensions.

The pair can even focus on efforts to “responsibly handle competitors” and the way to “work collectively the place our pursuits align, particularly on transnational challenges that have an effect on the worldwide group”, the assertion learn.

The assembly comes amid rising frustration between the US and Chinese language governments over points similar to commerce coverage, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s method to Taiwan.

A senior administration official stated Biden hopes to restrict the deteriorating ties with China however he will likely be trustworthy with Xi about US considerations, together with over Taiwan and human rights,

“The president believes it's vital to construct a ground for the connection and be certain that there are guidelines of the street that sure our competitors,” the official instructed reporters in a name on the assembly.

Biden, requested as he left the White Home on Thursday night if he believed the talks with Xi could be productive, responded: “I all the time assume my conversations are productive.”

Biden and Xi final met in individual in the course of the Obama administration and ties between Beijing and Washington have since sunk to their lowest stage in a long time, most notably since US Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August.

China considers the self-governed democratic island as its territory and has grow to be enraged at high-profile visits to Taipei by US and European politicians.

Biden has been searching for extra secure relations with Beijing regardless of tensions over Taiwan, territorial disputes within the South China Sea the place Beijing has asserted historic rights to possession, and a bunch of different points together with commerce and human rights.

The senior US administration official stated there could be no joint assertion from the assembly between Biden and Xi, and there are not any expectations for particular agreements.

“I count on the president will likely be trustworthy about various our considerations, together with PRC (Folks’s Republic of China) exercise that threatens peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Strait, in addition to our longstanding considerations about human rights violations,” the official stated.

Biden stated on Wednesday he was unwilling to make any elementary concessions when he meets Xi and that he needed each leaders to put out their “crimson traces” and resolve areas of battle, together with on Taiwan.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese language Overseas Ministry, instructed a press convention on Thursday that China had taken “severely” the US proposal for a gathering between the 2 leaders and that groups from each side had been in communication on the matter.

“China’s US coverage is constant and clear. We're dedicated to mutual respect, peaceable coexistence and win-win cooperation with the US. On the similar time, we are going to firmly defend our sovereignty, safety and improvement pursuits,” Zhao stated.

On the difficulty of Taiwan, Zhao had a robust message for the US.

“What the US wants to do is cease fudging, distorting and hollowing out the one-China precept, strictly abide by the fundamental norms of worldwide relations together with respect for different nations’ sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in different nations’ inner affairs,” he stated.

”It is necessary that the US work along with China to correctly handle variations, advance mutually helpful cooperation, keep away from misunderstanding and miscalculation, and produce China-US relations again to the fitting observe,” he added.

Digital conferences

Whereas Biden and Xi have held a number of digital conferences, the dialogue in Bali would be the first time they've spoken face-to-face since Biden grew to become president in January of final yr.

It additionally comes simply weeks after Xi secured a historic, third time period as normal secretary of the Chinese language Communist Occasion, cementing his place as one of many nation’s most influential leaders.

Shortly after successful his third time period, Xi stated in a letter that the US and China should “discover methods to get alongside within the new period”. Biden has additionally famous that whereas the US sees China as a competitor, “we’re making it clear that we don’t search battle”.

That dedication has been examined over various points, together with US steps that purpose to undermine China’s manufacturing of semiconductor chips.

Lately, the US additionally has criticised China’s human rights document, significantly because it considerations its Uighur Muslim minority within the western province of Xinjiang.

The United Nations has stated at the very least a million Uighurs and different minorities are being held in a community of detention centres in what the UN human rights workplace stated in September might quantity to “crimes in opposition to humanity”.

China has stated the measures are essential to counter “extremism” whereas rejecting worldwide criticism as “disinformation”.

Biden on Wednesday instructed reporters he supposed to debate with Xi the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

“What I wish to do with him after we discuss is lay out what every of our crimson traces are and perceive what he believes to be within the vital nationwide pursuits of China, what I do know to be the vital pursuits of the USA,” Biden stated.

“And decide whether or not or not they battle with each other.”