Biden and Xi Meet Face-to-Face Amid Superpower Tensions

President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Indonesia, the two leaders’ first in-person meeting since Biden took office as president.

Summary

President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Indonesia, the two leaders’ first in-person meeting since Biden took office as president.

• The nearly three-hour meeting covered nearly every tension point between the U.S. and China, including what President Biden called China’s “coercive and increasingly aggressive actions” toward Taiwan, economic competition, and human rights concerns in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.
• The President told China’s paramount leader that both of them were responsible for preventing competition between the world’s two superpowers from spiraling into conflict over trade or Taiwan.
• After the meeting, Chinese officials said Xi warned Biden about crossing a “red line” over Taiwan, while Biden said he did not think an invasion of Taiwan was “imminent.”
• Both leaders voiced opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and also agreed to restore regular communication on global issues like food security and climate change.

• The Washington Post called the three-hour Biden-Xi meeting “the most consequential” of Biden’s week-long Asia trip. Both world leaders expressed hope of restoring the U.S.-China relationship and steering it “in the right direction.”
• The New York Times assessed the cast of advisors Biden brought to the summit for “clues” about Biden’s China strategy. The inclusion of China hawks like White House Asia czar Kurt Campbell and National Security Council official Rush Doshi seemingly signals a willingness by the Biden White House to move from “engagement” with China to “constant competition.”
• POLITICO noted that observers had low expectations for concrete accomplishments from the Biden-Xi meeting, but just having a meeting in the first place was seen as “an important step toward de-escalation.”

• The Wall Street Journal reported Xi’s appearance at the G-20 summit marks the end of a three-year absence from the world stage. The Chinese leader warned his people to “brace for international turbulence” but it remains to be seen whether Xi will calm international concern over China’s aggressive methods.
• Fox News noted that while Biden met with Xi, Congress took steps to send a multi-billion-dollar arms package to Taiwan to help the island nation ward off a feared invasion from China. Congressional leaders hope sending weapons now will prevent China-Taiwan tensions from spiraling into a full-scale war like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• The Washington Examiner published an editorial arguing Biden’s meeting with Xi will be the most important meeting of Biden’s life. The President “must ensure that Xi does not come away from their interchange with a mistaken understanding” and demonstrate he is “in confident command of the U.S. government and military” to stave off a potential invasion of Taiwan.

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© Dominic Moore, 2022