What to expect when Joe Biden meets Xi Jinping ahead of APEC in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO : US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on Wednesday before a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, seeking to reduce friction in what many see as the world's most dangerous rivalry. The leaders of the world's two largest economies have known each other for over a decade and have shared hours of conversation in six interactions since Biden's January 2021 inauguration.
But they have met only once in person since then, and Xi, who arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday evening, had not visited the United States since 2017 when Donald Trump was president. The White House says the aim of the summit, expected to be held at the Filoli Estate, about 30 miles (48 km) south of San Francisco, is to boost communication to prevent an intense rivalry from veering into conflict.
The meeting is expected to cover global issues from the conflict in the Middle East to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's ties with Russia, Taiwan, human rights, artificial intelligence, as well as "fair" trade and economic relations. Biden is expected to tell Xi that the U.S.
remains committed to standing with its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, in the face of Chinese pressure against democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and in the South and East China Seas. He will also express a specific commitment to the security of the Philippines, U.S.
officials said. The White House says Washington is looking for specific outcomes and hopes to see progress in reestablishing military-to military ties with China and in combating trade in the potent synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, which has become a scourge in the United States, and especially in San
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