The two leaders, holding their first one-on-one talks since Biden became president, met on Monday on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of a Group of 20 (G20) summit expected to be fraught with tension over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . Biden and Xi shook hands in front of a row of Chinese and US flags as they met at the luxury Mulia Hotel on Bali’s Nusa Dua Bay. “The world has come to a crossroads,” Xi said, promising a “frank” discussion on issues that have strained relations between the world’s two superpowers. “People expect China and the United States to handle the relationship properly,” he said. For his part, Biden greeted Xi with a smile that belied the growing rivalry between the nation that defined the last century and a rival seeking to define the next. Biden said he wanted the US and China to “manage our differences, prevent competition from turning into conflict.” On the eve of his meeting with Xi, Biden told Asian leaders in Cambodia that lines of communication with China would remain open to avoid conflict, but that talks were expected to be tough. Biden told reporters that he had “always had direct conversations” with Xi, and that prevented either of them from “miscalculating” his intentions. “I know him well, he knows me,” Biden said. “We just have to figure out where the red lines are and what the most important things are for each of us in the next two years.” Biden arrived in Bali on Sunday night as his Democratic Party retained control of the Senate after performing better than expected in the midterm elections. Xi, who secured an unprecedented third term at the Communist Party Congress last month, is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
“Low Expectations”
The planned talks have received little coverage in Chinese state media, which reported that Xi will also hold bilateral meetings with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, French President Emmanuel Macron and Senegalese President Macky Sall. “There are low expectations from China and the most positive outcome is perhaps that the two sides are keeping the channels of communication open,” said Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok in Beijing. Relations between the US and China have soured sharply in recent years over issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, coercive trade practices and US restrictions on Chinese technology. Tensions rose further when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan in August. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own and was angered by the trip, holding days of air and naval exercises around the island after Pelosi’s departure. Biden and Xi, who have had five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021, last met in person during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, called on the Biden administration to “stop politicizing” trade and embrace Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan. Beijing also wants Washington to lift tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 and ease restrictions on China’s access to chips and other US technology. Biden left most of them in place and added restrictions on access to technology that US officials say could be used in weapons development. “The United States must stop politicizing, weaponizing and ideologicalizing trade issues,” Zhao said at a briefing. Biden is also likely to urge Beijing to take a more assertive approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Chinese leader has largely avoided public criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions, with Beijing abstaining from key United Nations votes. “We believe that, of course, every country in the world should do more to prevail on Russia, especially those that have relations with Russia, to end this war and leave Ukraine,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Officials say Biden will also urge China to rein in its ally North Korea after an unprecedented number of missile tests this year and expectations that Pyongyang will soon conduct its seventh nuclear test. “Beijing has an integral role to play in encouraging North Korea’s restraint and incentivizing denuclearization,” Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said in emailed comments. “While there is little chance that the Biden-Xi meeting during the G20 will immediately increase cooperation, the framework for dealing with Pyongyang should not be ‘Cold War 2.0,’ but rather a multilateral defense of the international order.”
