Biden and Xi to meet in person

Islam News – US President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, will meet on Monday, before the G20 summit in Indonesia. The conversation will be their first in-person encounter since Biden took office, The New York Times reported.

Taiwan is the top issue. Tensions between China and the self-governed island democracy have been rising for months. Biden has taken a bolder stance on Taiwan than previous U.S. presidents. A senior official said he would deliver no “fundamental concessions” to Beijing, which insists that the island is part of its territory.

Expectations are low. A senior White House official framed the meeting as “building a floor” in U.S.-China relations, and said the president would be honest about his concerns. The two leaders will not release a joint statement after their meeting but are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, trade, human rights and North Korea.

More diplomacy: Biden’s conversation with Xi will take place after another high-profile thaw. At COP27, the U.N. climate summit, John Kerry, the top U.S. climate negotiator, met at least three times with his Chinese counterpart. It was the only breakthrough since China suspended climate talks with the Biden administration in early August after Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan.

Biden at COP27: The president will attend the summit today. He will try to promote the new U.S. climate law and skirt demands that his country compensate developing nations for the impacts of climate change.

Biden in Cambodia: Before arriving at COP27, he will speak with leaders of Southeast Asian countries as part of a larger effort to shore up relationships that could help contain China’s influence in the region.

Source: The New York Times