6-10-2023 (WASHINGTON) The White House is reportedly in the early stages of planning a face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, set to take place in San Francisco next month. This meeting comes as the two nations aim to address and stabilize their increasingly troubled relationship, according to a report by the Washington Post published on Thursday.
Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated in recent years, primarily due to various contentious issues, including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, allegations of espionage, human rights concerns, and trade disputes.
Senior, unnamed US officials cited by the Washington Post have mentioned that the possibility of this meeting is “pretty firm” and the planning process is already underway. The US officials were quoted as saying, “We’re beginning the process.”
This potential meeting would follow a series of high-level interactions between the two countries in recent months. Notable visits included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in August. Furthermore, Blinken held talks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in New York, and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has not yet responded to requests for comments on the Washington Post’s report, while the White House has remained silent regarding the matter.
President Biden and Chinese President Xi’s most recent in-person meeting occurred on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022. Prior to this, they had engaged in five exchanges through phone calls and video conferences after Biden assumed office.
Notably, China’s top security agency hinted last month that any potential meeting between Xi and Biden would depend on the United States demonstrating “sufficient sincerity.”
US officials, such as Raimondo and Yellen, have emphasized their desire to avoid decoupling from China. However, China has expressed concerns over the United States’ approval of arms sales and military financing to Taiwan.
San Francisco is scheduled to host an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, which Xi Jinping might attend. However, Xi notably skipped the G20 summit held in New Delhi, which President Biden did attend.
