Takeaways from Biden’s long-awaited meeting with Xi

WASHINGTON – It used to be a meeting a 12 months within the making.

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down together on Wednesday simply out of doors of San Francisco, the place Asian leaders accrued for an annual summit. It used to be virtually precisely three hundred and sixty five days since their final come across in Bali, Indonesia, at the sidelines of every other international amassing.

In addition to a proper bilateral meeting, Biden and Xi shared a lunch with most sensible advisers and strolled the verdant grounds of the luxurious property the place their meeting happened.

There’s no phrase on whether or not Chinese pandas will go back to Washington’s zoo. But Biden mentioned the meeting integrated “some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had.” Here’s a look at how the day panned out.

NEW AGREEMENTS

Biden left the meeting with commitments on key issues.

Xi agreed to help curb the production of the illicit fentanyl that is a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States. A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, said the shift will be a setback for Latin American drug dealers.

“It’s going to save lives, and I appreciated President Xi’s commitment on this issue,” Biden said at a press conference after his meeting.

In addition, Biden and Xi reached an agreement to resume military-to-military communications. That means Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will speak with his Chinese counterpart once someone is named to the job, the official said. Similar engagements will take place up and down the military chain of command.

The official said Biden was “very clear” to Xi that such communications between U.S. and China must be institutionalized and that they’re “not done as a gift or as a favor to either side.”

Biden said the U.S. and China would talk more about artificial intelligence as well.

“We’re going to get our experts together and discuss risk and safety issues,” he said.

The agreements helped fulfill the White House’s goal for the meeting — prove to voters that Biden’s dedication to personal diplomacy is paying off.

On Sunday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that Biden wanted “practical ways” to turn that meeting with Xi can assist “defend American interests and also deliver progress on the priorities of the American people.”

Zoe Liu, a fellow for China research on the Council for Foreign Relations, described the meeting between Biden and Xi as a favorable step, albeit an incremental one.

“These agreements will not change the structural challenges in the bilateral relations, but it paves the way for more detailed working-level discussions, which is more important,” she mentioned.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

Xi arrived in San Francisco at a time of monetary demanding situations again in China, the place an growing older inhabitants and rising debt have hampered its convalescing from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Beijing’s description of the meeting, Xi pressed Biden to boost sanctions and alter insurance policies on export controls for delicate apparatus.

“Stifling China’s technological progress is nothing but a move to contain China’s high-quality development and deprive the Chinese people of their right to development,” the readout mentioned. “China’s development and growth, driven by its own inherent logic, will not be stopped by external forces.”

There’s no indication that Biden will conform to take such steps. But even the meeting itself may just calm jittery nerves again in China, the place there were indicators overseas funding is truly fizzling out.

Zhang Lei, a Chinese businessman whose corporate, Cheche Group, is indexed on NASDAQ, mentioned high-level conferences equivalent to the only between Biden and Xi can assist guarantee corporations which were hesitant to spend money on China.

“Confrontations don’t work,” he mentioned. “You don’t earn cash with confrontations.”

IT’S PERSONAL

Biden and Xi go back years, and Biden often repeats the story of their meetings when they were both vice presidents.

But on Wednesday, it was Xi’s turn to reference their previous encounters during brief public remarks, although he eschewed the embellishments that Biden usually adds to the tale.

“It was 12 years ago,” Xi said. “I still remember our interactions very vividly, and it always gives me a lot of thoughts.”

Biden also emphasized the length of their relationship and the value of their interactions.

“We haven’t always agreed, which was not a surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful,” Biden said. He added that “it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication.”

Bilateral meetings aren’t always conducive to a personal touch, and Biden and Xi were flanked by advisers on opposite sides of a long table. However, a senior administration official said they spoke about their wives, and Biden wished Xi’s wife a happy birthday.

The official, who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said Xi was embarrassed, and he admitted that he had forgotten his wife’s upcoming birthday because he’s been working so hard.

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Associated Press creator Didi Tang contributed to this file from San Francisco. Seung Min Kim additionally contributed.