SEOUL—
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in California on Wednesday, but US officials do not expect any major breakthroughs that could dramatically improve bilateral relations.
According to White House officials, one of the main goals of the summit is simply to reduce the likelihood that tensions between the United States and China will lead to conflict.
“We’re not talking about a long list of results,” a senior Biden administration official acknowledged during a telephone briefing.
“The objectives are to manage competition, reduce the risk of conflict and keep communication channels open,” the official added.
The meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, will be the first face-to-face contact between the two leaders in about a year.
During this time, relations between the two countries sank to perhaps their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China in 1979.
It is not just that the two sides disagree on issues such as Taiwan, trade, human rights and global governance. Dangerous encounters between US and Chinese military aircraft and ships now occur regularly in the East and South China Seas.
The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that such clashes could be deadly. But until recently, U.S. officials had few opportunities to voice such claims, as Beijing shut down many lines of communication to protest U.S. actions.
However, in recent months, China’s opposition to dialogue has begun to soften.
U.S. and Chinese officials held exploratory talks on a wide range of issues, including arms control, macroeconomics and climate change.
On a few occasions, Xi Jinping surprised visiting American delegations with a personal reception that many observers described as very warm.
“I have said many times, including to several presidents, that we have a thousand reasons to improve China-US relations and not a single reason to destroy them,” Xi Jinping told a group of US senators visiting Beijing.
While few expect the Biden-Xi Jinping meeting to transform the relationship, officials and analysts point to several areas where progress may have been made that will be announced soon.
Biden could persuade Xi Jinping to take steps to reduce the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl, a dangerous drug that causes tens of thousands of overdoses in the United States each year.
“Overall, we expect a productive meeting,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. – President Biden has been communicating with President Xi for a long time and their conversations are direct and frank. “President Biden believes that direct, face-to-face diplomacy from one leader to another is essential to managing this complex relationship.”
Sullivan said Biden will “lay out a vision for peace and stability and maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
But Nathaniel Sher, a senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment’s China office, warned that the meeting was unlikely to create a solid foundation for U.S.-China relations, especially ahead of elections in the United States and Taiwan.
“A meeting can prevent further deterioration of relations,” he said.
