US President Joe Biden will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping on November 14 in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the White House announced Thursday, at a time of heightened tension between the two superpowers. .
The two leaders, whose first face-to-face meeting since Joe Biden’s election will be discussed, will discuss how to “responsibly manage” the rivalry between China and the United States while trying to “work together where our interests coincide,” the White House spokeswoman said. Karine Jean. -Pierre said in a statement, using the formulas that Americans usually use.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, who have already spoken several times by phone and videoconference, will also address a series of “international and regional” issues, he said, but without explicitly mentioning the fate of Taiwan, which concentrates all the tensions.
“What I want to do with him, when we talk to each other, is to determine the type of red lines” that we must respect, the Democratic leader said this Wednesday at a press conference in Washington.
No change in US doctrine
“The doctrine on Taiwan has not changed at all,” Joe Biden repeated again, avoiding rephrasing previous statements that had angered Beijing, according to which the US military would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked.
Xi Jinping won a third term in the Chinese Communist Party Congress last month, cementing his status as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Tse-tung. This raises fears in Taiwan, but also in Washington, that China will redouble its efforts to achieve reunification with the island.
Joe Biden frequently dwells on his long relationship with the Chinese leader, which began when he was still Barack Obama’s vice president.
Last exchange last July
Their last conversation dates back to the end of July and the White House teams had been working for weeks to organize a face-to-face meeting in Bali.
Since then, the tension between Washington and Beijing has hardly subsided, on the contrary.
It is about Taiwan, but also about the position of each power against Russia and its invasion of Ukraine, as well as their technological and commercial rivalry, at a time when the Americans are trying to revive their own cutting-edge industry to reduce their dependence on China. .
Source: BFM TV
