Biden and Xi are looking for clarity in an increasingly difficult relationship

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping haven’t any scarcity of difficult problems to speak about after they sit down down for their first talks in a yr, even supposing expectancies are low that their meeting will result in main breakthroughs.

Each chief has transparent targets for the highly anticipated talks Wednesday at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a gathering that comes after what’s been a fractious yr for the sector’s two greatest economies.

Both Biden and Xi are looking to carry a better measure of steadiness to a relationship this is being outlined via variations over export controls, tensions over Taiwan, the wars in the Middle East and Europe, and extra.

A take a look at what every president is hoping to succeed in throughout their talks:

WHAT BIDEN WANTS

The White House has made transparent that the U.S.-China relationship is past the times the place a gathering ends with an extended checklist of bulletins and agreements.

Instead, Biden involves San Francisco curious about managing the international locations’ increasingly fierce financial pageant and holding open traces of communique to stop misunderstandings that would result in direct struggle between the 2 powers.

Expect Biden to shield U.S. growth of export controls on semiconductor chips. At the similar time, he’s going to guarantee Xi that he’s now not seeking to salary financial warfare with Beijing amid proceeding indicators that China’s economy is struggling to get well from the industrial disruptions of the pandemic.

“The United States has no desire to decouple from China. A full separation of our economies would be economically disastrous for both our countries, and for the world,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen instructed Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng after they met this previous week. “We seek a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both countries over time.”

The Biden management has signaled it desires to reopen military-to-military communications that experience in large part ceased after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, the primary discuss with via a U.S. House speaker to the self-ruled island since Rep. Newt Gingrich in 1997. Beijing considers Taiwan, a self-governed island of 23 million other people, to be a part of Chinese territory and vows to unify with it, via power if vital.

Biden “is determined to see the reestablishment of military-to-military ties because he believes it’s in the U.S. national security interest,” his nationwide safety adviser, Jake Sullivan, mentioned Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” The top U.S. military officer instructed newshounds Friday in Toyko that he has conveyed to China his hopes to renew that stalled communique. “I’m hopeful,” mentioned the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr.

Meanwhile, the U.S. management has signaled it is going to hammer house that it seeks no exchange to the established order in Taiwan. Washington acknowledges Beijing as the federal government of China and does now not have diplomatic members of the family with Taiwan. But China has perceived American touch with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence everlasting. Concern about the problem is heightened as Taiwan prepares to carry presidential elections in January.

Biden may be anticipated to let Xi know that he desires China to make use of its burgeoning sway over Iran to shed light on that Tehran or its proxies must now not take motion that would result in growth of the Israel-Hamas war. Biden’s management believes the Chinese, a large purchaser of Iranian oil, have really extensive leverage with Iran, which is a significant backer of Hamas.

With the U.S. presidential election lower than a yr away, management officers mentioned Biden will shed light on that Chinese interference in the vote may not be tolerated.

Disinformation mavens warn that Beijing may just goal to focus on the U.S., sowing discord that would possibly affect election effects on the native degree, particularly in districts with huge numbers of Chinese American electorate.

WHAT XI WANTS

Xi is looking for assurances from Biden. Xi desires to listen to from Biden that the American president is not going to fortify Taiwan independence, is not going to get started a brand new chilly warfare and is not going to suppress China’s financial enlargement.

“A good host needs to avoid creating any new trouble or obstacles,” Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador, mentioned at a discussion board in Hong Kong ultimate week.

Beijing’s calls for had been made transparent ultimate November when Xi and Biden met in Bali, Indonesia, throughout the Group of 20 summit. Relations, then again, had infrequently stabilized when the U.S. shot down a Chinese undercover agent balloon in February, plunging diplomatic members of the family to any other low.

Now, the 2 international locations “need to return to what was agreed between the two presidents in Bali and truly act on it,” mentioned Wang Wenbin, a spokesman of the Chinese overseas ministry.

Last yr, Xi instructed Biden the Taiwan query used to be “at the core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.”

This time Xi will probably be looking for sturdy language from Washington opposing Taiwan’s independence.

Xi mentioned in Bali that U.S.-China interactions must be outlined via discussion and win-win cooperation, now not disagreement and zero-sum pageant. That used to be a rejoinder to the Biden management mantra that the 2 international locations must compete vigorously whilst now not looking for struggle. Beijing has bristled at export controls and different measures imposed via the Biden management, perceiving them as designed to stifle China’s financial enlargement.

Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Studies of Nanjing University, mentioned punitive measures from each the Trump and Biden administrations, comparable to price lists on Chinese items, sanctions towards Chinese firms and export restrictions on high-tech merchandise comparable to complicated chips, have transform “the most important issue” for China.

Beijing does now not need a chilly warfare or geopolitical opposition as it hurts China’s construction, Zhu mentioned, and China “will reject and cannot accept those crazy suppression acts of the U.S.”

Beijing has demanded rollbacks in price lists and sanctions. But Xi, this time, is more likely to search assurance from Biden that the U.S. is not going to pile new ones onto China.

Xi, who is predicted to deal with American trade leaders whilst in San Francisco, will even glance to strengthen self assurance that China is a secure position to take a position as Beijing wishes overseas funding to assist revive its economic system.

In an alarming signal, the rustic recorded a overseas direct funding deficit throughout the July-September duration, the primary time since 1998. Foreign investments have pushed a lot of China’s enlargement for the previous 3 many years, and a web outflow may just point out Beijing’s incapacity to draw and retain overseas investments.

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Associated Press writers Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this document.