Joe Biden and Xi Jinping sat down on Wednesday, November 15th in San Francisco. It was almost one year since their last encounter. These two leaders have a long history going back to when they were both vice presidents in 2009.
In a post-meeting interview, Biden said the meeting included “some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had” and it will lead to stronger dialogue between the two leaders. China labeled the talks as “positive” and “comprehensive”.
China and the US announced they will resume direct military-to-military communications. When then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Beijing cut military communication lines with the United States in protest. The two sides will now reopen channels between theater commanders and resume talks involving senior defense and diplomatic officials. Biden was very clear to Xi that such communications between the US and China should be institutionalized and that they are “not done as a gift or as a favor to either side.”
The two leaders came up with China curbing the production of fentanyl-related products. This means China is going to stem the export of items related to the production of the opioid fentanyl, a leading cause of death in the United States. China will go directly after specific chemical companies that make fentanyl precursors. “It’s going to save lives,” Biden said, adding he appreciated Xi’s “commitment” to the issue.
Joe and Xi also discussed artificial intelligence (AI), agreeing that if AI was used in military or nuclear operations, it created real risks. The senior U.S. official said both sides were “very much focused” on practices regarding AI that could be dangerous or destabilizing.
Xi signaled that China would send the US new pandas, just a week after three from the Smithsonian National Zoo were returned to China.
Even with the two leaders having a productive meeting and coming up with many solutions there were also some disagreements as always. Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Joe Biden that Taiwan was the biggest, most dangerous issue in the U.S.-China ties. Biden responded by assuring Xi that Washington was determined to maintain peace in the region. “President Xi responded: look, peace is … all well and good but at some point we need to move towards resolution more generally,”.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he had not changed his view that Chinese President Xi Jinping was effectively a dictator, a comment that landed with a thud in Beijing after the two leaders held straightforward summit talks. Chinese officials responded by saying “This kind of statement is extremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation”.
Overall, officials described the meeting as more personal than the last time the two leaders met. It seems this summit strengthened the U.S.-China relationship and put new important procedures in place.
