Xi, Biden to meet as Trump return looms
US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart
Xi Jinping will meet for the last time Saturday, a day after both leaders
warned of turbulent times ahead for the world as Donald Trump returns to the
White House.
Their final encounter, taking place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific
summit in Peru, has been overshadowed by the prospect of fresh trade wars and
diplomatic upheaval when Trump starts his second term.
Trump’s comeback has cast a cloud of uncertainty over efforts by Washington
and Beijing to ease their tense relationship, launched in a historic meeting
between Xi and Biden in California a year ago.
The White House said Saturday’s Xi-Biden meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit would “mark the progress” in the relationship
between the United States and an increasingly assertive Beijing.
But it was also aimed at getting through a “delicate period of transition”
and ensuring that competition with China “doesn’t veer into conflict”, US
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
Trump’s crushing election win over Kamala Harris has caused shock waves
around the globe and dominated the two-day meeting of heads of state of the
21-member APEC group.
– ‘Significant political change’ –
The billionaire Republican has in particular signaled a confrontational
approach to Beijing, threatening to impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on
imports of Chinese goods to even out what he says is a trade imbalance.
He has also named two major China hawks in his top team, including his pick
for Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Xi and Biden, who are meeting for the third time overall, warned separately
at the summit on Friday of choppy waters ahead.
The Chinese president raised concerns about “spreading unilateralism and
protectionism” in a written speech to the forum, China’s state news agency
Xinhua reported.
For his part, Biden said the world had “reached a moment of significant
political change,” as he met the leaders of Japan and South Korea — key US
allies in Asia.
Biden said US ties with the two countries were essential for “countering
North Korea’s dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia” as
Pyongyang sends troops to fight in Ukraine.
And with Biden racing to salvage what he can of his foreign policy legacy
from Trump, he said the three-way alliance he had pioneered was “built to
last. That’s my hope and expectation.”
A senior administration official insisted that Trump’s name had not come up
during the meeting with the South Korean and Japanese leaders.
– Alliances at risk –
The return of Trump’s “America First” policies, however, threatens alliances
Biden has built on issues ranging from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle
East to climate change and trade.
During his first term, Trump repeatedly threatened to cut US defense
commitments to Asian and European allies if they did not pay a larger share
of the financial burden for their protection.
Economists say Trump’s threat of punitive tariffs would harm not only China’s
economy but also that of the United States and its trading partners.
It could also threaten geopolitical stability.
China is building up its military capacity while ramping up pressure on self-
governed Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory.
Sullivan said Xi and Biden were set to discuss Taiwan and tensions in the
South China Sea, where Beijing claims large swathes of maritime territory, he
said.
They would also focus on keeping communication channels open, particularly
military-to-military hotlines restored last year.
The APEC summit will wrap up on Saturday but Trump’s shadow is still set to
cloud the international diplomatic agenda at a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro
next week.
Biden will also be heading there as part of a swing through Latin America in
what is likely to be his last major foreign tour.
He will stop in the Amazonian rainforest on Sunday to highlight the impact of
climate change — another key policy area likely to be affected by Trump, who
has promised to “drill, baby, drill” for fossil fuels.
AFP
