Neither side has confirmed Xi’s attendance at the APEC summit next month
US, China ‘working towards’ Biden-Xi meeting next month on APEC sidelines, White House says
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Washington lays the groundwork for the two leaders to meet in San Francisco
- Biden tells Wang that the nations’ competitive relationship should be be handled ‘responsibly’ and that lines of communication must stay open
US and Chinese officials are “working together toward” a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month, the White House said on Friday, the latest indication from Washington that the highly anticipated gathering will take place.
“The two sides reaffirmed their desire to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level diplomacy, including working together towards a meeting” between the two leaders at the APEC summit in San Francisco, according to a White House readout of White House Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Wang met with Biden, Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over two days of negotiations in the US capital.
“I think we are making preparations for just such a meeting,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters in a conference call, adding that
“Chinese leaders often confirm publicly much closer to a trip, so I will leave it to the Chinese side to figure out if and when they make that announcement”.
“I would just say on our side at least, we are working together towards that goal and making preparations on our side,” she said.
During the “candid and in-depth” talks between Blinken and Wang, which totaled more than six hours, Blinken underscored the need to resume military-to-military channels, according to another senior Biden administration official on the call.
There were two internal events in China:
- China’s dismissal of former Defence Minister Li Shangfu earlier this week might prompt progress on the resumption of military talks, according to the first administration official.
- During his meeting with Wang on Friday, Biden expressed condolences on the death of former Premier Li Keqiang. Li, who stepped down from his post in March after serving two five-year terms, died at age 68 on Friday after having a heart attack.
China’s dismissal of former Defence Minister Li Shangfu earlier this week might prompt progress on the resumption of military talks, according to the first administration official.
- “In the past, the US sanction against Li Shangfu had been the ostensible reason for no [military-to-military] ties,” she said.
- “Now that Li Shangfu is no longer in that position, we are again of course pressing for resumption.
- I think we’re hopeful that we’ll see some progress.”
- Li was sanctioned by the US in 2018 on allegations that he played a role in weapon purchases from Russia.
Blinken and Wang also had “frank exchanges” about
- the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Biden officials said.
- Additional regional and global issues discussed included Russia’s war against Ukraine and North Korea’s “provocative” actions.
- Regarding Taiwan, Blinken reiterated the US position to uphold the US’ one-China policy, and that the US remains “committed to preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” they said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in an earlier briefing on Friday that he was “confident” that a meeting between Biden and Xi would happen.
The first administration official said in Friday’s briefing that throughout the talks the US pressed China to “take a more constructive approach” regarding the situation in the Middle East, adding “that would include of course their engagements with the Iranians to urge calm...
- We’ll have to wait and see if there’s anything constructive there.”
- The US has repeatedly called on China to use its influence to help prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from spreading.
Kirby said that climate change and global health were also discussed with Wang in this week’s talks, and that the US also voiced its concern over recent “unsafe” incidents in the South China Sea.
- The US military said on Thursday that a Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of a US Air Force B-52 bomber over the South China Sea “putting both aircraft in danger of collision.”
- Washington also repeated its warning first issued Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack on the basis of a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
Wang’s trip this week caps a series of visits to China by the US secretaries of state, commerce and the Treasury, as well as CIA chief William Burns.
Wang’s meeting with Biden this week is a mirror image of the audience Xi granted Blinken when he visited Beijing in June. While largely symbolic – the real work is being done in meetings between Wang, Biden and Sullivan – it is still important given the stakes leading up to the expected Biden-Xi gathering in San Francisco.
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