Biden, China's Xi to meet on Saturday

14/11/2024 5:45

        U.S. President Joe Biden
        will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for likely the final
        time on Saturday, senior administration officials said, as
        Beijing prepares for a potentially more confrontational period
        with Washington under Donald Trump.
        
        The two leaders are expected to hold talks spanning a range
        of global hot spots, including heightened tensions between
        Washington and Beijing, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific
        Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, U.S. national security
        adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. He did not confirm the
        date of the meeting.
        
        It will be Biden and Xi's first known interaction since an
        April phone call.
        
        The two leaders have tried to keep tensions at bay over
        issues ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea and Russia,
        and American demands for more Chinese help to stem the flow of
        the ingredients for fentanyl, the leading cause of U.S. drug
        overdoses.
        
        Biden will raise concerns over a Chinese-linked group that
        recently hacked into private telecommunications of prominent
        U.S. officials, Sullivan said.
        
        "The president has demonstrated that the U.S. and (the
        People's Republic of China) can manage our differences and
        prevent competition from veering into conflict or confrontation,
        and he's done that by ensuring the maintenance of open lines of
        communication," he said.
        
        Officials said he would also raise Chinese support for
        Russia's war in Ukraine and the presence of over 10,000 North
        Korean soldiers in Russia.
        
        The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately
        respond to a request for comment.
        
        Biden and Xi restored leader-level talks last November that
        produced more cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts but
        little movement on bigger issues like a potential conflict over
        Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as
        its own territory.
        
        The Democratic administration finalized rules last month
        restricting U.S. investment in artificial intelligence, quantum
        computing and semiconductors in China that are set to take
        effect in January. That followed Biden raising tariffs on more
        goods from China.
        
        Both steps were rejected by China as counterproductive.
        
        Trump, a Republican, has vowed to adopt blanket 60% tariffs
        on U.S. imports of Chinese goods as part of a package of
        "America First" trade measures. Beijing opposes those steps.
        
        "Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in
        geopolitics; They're a time when competitors and adversaries can
        see possibly opportunity because you have this change in
        government here," Sullivan said.
        
        "Part of what President Biden will communicate is that we
        need to maintain stability, clarity, predictability through this
        transition between the United States and China."
        
        Trump's early personnel choices have included several
        hawkish voices on China in senior positions, such as U.S.
        Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
        
        Xi reportedly called Trump last week to congratulate him on
        his Nov. 5 election victory. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.