US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on November 15 in the San Francisco Bay area, marking their second face-to-face meeting during Biden's presidency. The discussions are expected to cover a range of topics, including the Israel-Hamas conflict, Taiwan, the war in Ukraine, and election interference, as reported by BBC.
Tensions between the two nations escalated earlier this year, with the US accusing China of sending a spy balloon into its airspace, leading to an American warplane shooting it down. Additionally, China broke off communication with the US military after a visit to Taiwan by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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The Biden administration aims to restore channels of communication, but China appears reluctant. The meeting is set against the backdrop of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by the US in San Francisco.
Taiwan is likely to be a key topic, with China seeking assurances that the US does not support Taiwanese independence, while Biden is expected to express concerns about Beijing's military activities around Taiwan. Discussions will also touch on US restrictions on technology exports to China and tensions in the South China and East China Seas, BBC reported.
The US is pressing China to use its influence to restrain Iran amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. While some modest achievements are anticipated, no breakthroughs resetting the relationship are expected; the focus is on managing and stabilizing it.
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China blames the deterioration in relations on the US, accusing it of "encircling, containing, and suppressing China." The Biden administration emphasizes countering aggressive Chinese behavior but has worked to ease tensions after the spy balloon incident.
The summit may result in restoring military communications and addressing the flow of Chinese-made Fentanyl, but both sides acknowledge the complexity of the relationship. A private dinner with US business executives in San Francisco, attended by President Xi, is also reported, with tickets starting at $2,000 per person. The National Committee on US-China Relations organizes the dinner, and discussions on economic cooperation between the two countries have taken place ahead of the summit. Chinese state media, Global Times, puts the responsibility on Biden to overcome disruptions in US-China relations.
