White House Working to Arrange Face-to-Face Meeting Between Biden and Xi Jinping Next Month
The White House is making efforts to organize a direct meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco next month, according to U.S. officials. However, both leaders and officials caution that plans for the meeting are still uncertain.
The Importance of the Meeting
The Biden administration has been actively working for months to bring the two leaders together during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum scheduled to take place in San Francisco from November 11 to 17. The objective is to establish a centerpiece event that can help cool down the increasingly tense relationship between the United States and China.
With rising tensions over Taiwan and China’s military buildup in the South China Sea, U.S. officials view this meeting as crucial. The Chinese government had severed cross-military communications following former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, which greatly angered China.
The relationship between the two countries further deteriorated earlier this year when a Chinese surveillance balloon, described by U.S. officials as sophisticated, flew over the United States and was eventually shot down by a U.S. fighter jet.
Previous Interactions and Diplomatic Efforts
The last meeting between President Biden and President Xi took place in 2022 during a G20 summit on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. However, the White House has been diligently working to improve relations and ensure continued communication with China.
Several key members of the Biden administration, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry, have traveled to China this year in an effort to thaw relations and maintain open lines of communication.
The possibility of a Biden-Xi summit was discussed during a meeting between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta last month.
In conclusion, while plans for a face-to-face meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping are still uncertain, the White House is actively working to arrange the meeting during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco. This meeting holds great significance in improving the strained relationship between the United States and China and addressing key issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
