It was the first meeting between two old acquaintances since Joe Biden was elected president of the United States, which took place on the eve of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. Over the course of three hours, the US leader and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping – both strengthened internally, the first by the results of the midterm elections, the second by consolidating his position in the Congress of the Communist Party of China – dealt with a on a wide range of issues, from the war in Ukraine to human rights, and found consensus by reaffirming their rejection of the use of nuclear weapons.
The main purpose of this meeting – which had been prepared for months – was to re-establish top-level diplomatic channels between Washington and Beijing and avoid Cold War comparisons, acquiring an added bonus: the resumption of bilateral talks about climate change.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August had angered officials in Beijing, who had suspended climate talks with the Americans. U.S. diplomats said ahead of the meeting that Biden hoped to prevent “red lines” from emerging that could raise the prospect of conflict between the two powers. No more were made, but Taiwan’s leftovers.
Xi warned not to cross Beijing’s “red line” on the island that was the stronghold of nationalists fleeing the mainland that the communist regime claims is its territory, according to China’s foreign ministry. “The Taiwan issue is at the heart of China’s core interests, it is the political foundation of China-US relations and the first red line not to be crossed in China-US relations,” Xi told reporters. Biden, adding that “solving the Taiwan issue is a matter for the Chinese”.
In turn, despite criticism of Beijing’s “aggressive” actions towards Taipei, the president of the United States said he did not believe he was planning an imminent invasion of the island the Portuguese called Formosa, and also that he had no intention of changing Washington’s position on the matter. However, in light of rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei and military exercises held in response to Pelosi’s visit, Biden has stated on several occasions in recent months that US troops could be called upon to defend Taiwan against an unjustified attack.
“We share a responsibility to demonstrate that China and the US can manage their differences, prevent competition from turning into conflict, and look for ways to work together on global issues that require mutual cooperation.” Joe Biden
Economic competition and human rights are other issues that exposed the differences between the two countries. Last month, the US imposed trade sanctions on China that hit technology sectors such as military and artificial intelligence by banning the export of certain advanced semiconductor technologies, but the statements made no mention of either.
According to the US diplomacy statement on the meeting, Biden “expressed concern about the practices of the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and human rights in general.” China has long maintained that these issues are “internal affairs” and opposes “external interference”.
joint prosperity
The general tone was one of reconciliation. “The world is big enough for the two countries to develop and prosper together,” said Hua Chunying, a State Department spokeswoman who accompanied Xi to the meeting with Biden. The latter, in describing the meeting to journalists, spoke of a “candid conversation” on points they disagreed on, which was backed up by the Chinese leader’s spokesman, who spoke of a “deep, sincere and constructive” meeting.
“We must play a leading role, set the right course for bilateral relations and put them on an upward trajectory.” Xi Jinping
Biden said he was convinced his counterpart was willing to compromise and did not believe in the inevitability of another Cold War. The Chinese leader did not respond to journalists, but Beijing’s statement is very clear, saying that the two countries share “more, not less, common interests,” and that China is not seeking to challenge the United States or “undermine the existing international order”. to change”. “.
As a result of this new diplomatic phase, it was announced that the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, will visit China in early 2023.
Recent meetings between Chinese and Russian leaders have referred to a “new world order”. But what turned out in Bali was that the Kremlin will not receive Chinese support if Vladimir Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons. “They reiterated their agreement that nuclear war should never be fought and strengthened their opposition to the use or threat of the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” the US diplomat said in a statement.
In addition, “President Xi stressed that China is deeply concerned about the current situation in Ukraine,” said Beijing, which has again spoken out in favor of peace talks.
Source: DN
