/ world today news/ Negotiations were held in San Francisco between the leaders of the USA and China. The Western world expected a thaw in relations between the two countries, but the two sides failed to agree on key issues. Biden also reiterated that he considers Xi Jinping a dictator. How will relations between Washington and Beijing develop now, and how will the results of these negotiations affect Russia?
Talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden were held in San Francisco. After the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that the two countries intend to build stable bilateral relations. However, he stressed that Washington and Beijing have red lines that must be “vigorously defended.”
According to the diplomat, the Taiwan issue has proven to be the most sensitive. Wang Yi said that this issue has always been extremely important in the dialogue between the PRC and the US. If the White House continues its policy of containing China, China will firmly defend its sovereignty and interests, the diplomat stressed.
At the same time, at a welcome dinner for Beijing-friendly organizations in America, Xi Jinping noted that his country has never relied on the loss of Washington and has not interfered in the internal affairs of the United States. He assured that China will not challenge the US and replace it. The chairman also said that the White House should not count on the defeat of the Celestial Empire.
He also expressed hope that Washington would lift unilateral sanctions. According to him, this US decision can provide a non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies. Xi Jinping emphasized that the development and growth of the PRC has an internal logic, it is impossible for external forces to stop these processes.
The Chinese leader also named five principles of US-China relations: working together to properly perceive each other, effectively eliminating differences, considering mutual benefits, pursuing responsible great power policies, and strengthening cultural and humanitarian contacts.
Against this background, at the end of the meeting, in a conversation with reporters, Joe Biden again called the leader of China a dictator. The American president specified that Xi Jinping runs a country based on a form of leadership completely different from the political norms of the United States. Still, the American leader is confident that both countries have taken “tangible steps” in the right direction.
However, Biden emphasized his intention to continue to compete with Beijing. The leaders’ meeting lasted a total of four hours. The two sides reportedly exchanged detailed views on the Ukrainian issue and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Also during the negotiations, attention was paid to the issue of climate change. In addition, the US and China agreed to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking and to cooperate more closely in those areas where their interests coincide.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden attracted a lot of attention in the Western media. Thus, the Washington Post calls the results of the negotiations “modest”, but notes that the agreements reached are “a rare example of interaction between the two most powerful countries in the world, which disagree on issues of trade, cyber and maritime security, and rights of man.”
The Wall Street Journal noted that both leaders used a “less harsh tone” during the talks than during previous meetings. However, the paper expressed doubt that the planned “reboot” would stand the coming “test of the deep differences between the US and China”.
In turn, “Politico” calls the most important result of the meeting the very fact of a “conversation between two leaders”. The event is noted to have taken place in an atmosphere of “superficial civility” that hides deep disagreements on key bilateral issues. In particular, the leaders failed to reach a consensus on the issue of Taiwan.
An interesting detail is noted by the Hong Kong edition “South China Morning Post”. According to the newspaper, on the day of the talks between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, the most popular hashtags on the Chinese social network “Weibo” were: “Eventually, the PRC will reunite with Taiwan”, “US should not plan to contain PRC”, “The country is big enough for both sides to succeed” and “Biden confirms lack of support for Taiwan independence”.
The meeting was also followed in Russia. Thus, Senator Alexey Pushkov wrote on his channel in “Telegram” that the PRC and the USA will not be able to achieve a detente due to Washington’s negative attitude towards Beijing. The deputy notes that “Biden does not need a rapprochement with China or ‘joint world governance.’ “The United States wants to govern itself. They want to limit and contain China’s influence,” Pushkov wrote.
He also draws attention to the fact that the US president once again called the president of the PRC a dictator. “They supposedly had a good conversation and then Joe spoke to the press and ruined everything. Blinken, who invested a lot of effort in preparing for Xi’s arrival in San Francisco, did not follow him,” he mocked. The Kremlin declined to comment on Biden’s words, but stressed that Russia values friendly relations between the leaders of the Russian Federation and China. According to experts, as a result, the countries were able to agree on only one important issue – the resumption of dialogue between the US and Chinese militaries. Otherwise, there was no other change between the US and China, they will continue to move on the path of escalating relations.
“The US and China have reached an agreement on the resumption of military contacts. After the balloon incident, dialogue between Washington and Beijing on these issues was suspended. Of course, this did not contribute to regional stability,” said Andrey Ostrovsky, chief researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“Nevertheless, for both sides, the opportunity to discuss security issues was of fundamental importance. Western countries increase their presence in the Pacific Ocean throughout the year. The Taiwan issue also escalated. The United States and China had to reduce the degree of escalation,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“But on other issues, there are no significant achievements. For the most part, the topics were discussed, as they say, “for show.” At least something had to fill the agenda of the negotiations, but both sides did not expect much at the beginning. The meeting had a very strange background: Xi Jinping did not confirm his trip to the US until the very end,” the expert clarifies.
“Furthermore, after the negotiations ended, Biden called the president of the PRC a dictator. This will obviously not add warmth to bilateral relations. However, in my opinion, this statement was made due to the excessive emotionality of the President of the United States. Apparently, he expected more from the meeting”, he emphasizes.
“On other key issues, both sides stuck to their previous views. In particular, the Taiwan issue is no closer to being resolved. “Washington still takes the unstable position of recognizing the island as part of the People’s Republic of China, but supports its autonomy, and China insists on US non-interference in the internal affairs of the Greater China,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“From Russia’s point of view, the negotiations ended quite well. Beijing kept its foreign policy course unchanged. This allows us to continue the planned diplomacy to establish a partnership with the PRC”, notes Ostrovski.
In his turn, Alexey Maslov, director of the Institute for Asian and African Countries at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, draws attention to the difference in the behavior of the two leaders after the negotiations. “Xi Jinping politely spoke about the importance of avoiding open confrontation between the great powers. At the same time, Joe Biden once again called the chairman of the PRC a dictator, explaining this with an extremely stupid formula: “in a communist country there can be no authoritarianism,” he said.
“It is striking that the American president does not know how to work with the Celestial Empire. It is obvious that his words will cause a storm of criticism both among Chinese politicians and the public. However, Beijing has always advocated moderation in the speeches of the heads of state at international forums,” explains the expert.
“However, for Moscow, the meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden ended extremely well. Contrary to Western expectations, the topic of Russia has not become a bargaining chip in the US-China dialogue. China now needs reliable allies, and our country is definitely a good friend for the Celestial Empire. But we should not stop there – it is important for us to continue to develop bilateral relations”, emphasizes Maslov.
Americanist Malek Dudakov also calls the negotiations complicated. “As a result of the negotiations, it became clear that the parties are ready to enter into symbolic resolutions that will most likely affect the US fentanyl crisis, artificial intelligence and the environment. It was also possible to agree on the resumption of military contacts,” he said.
However, no concrete decisions were announced. “Basically, the negotiations cannot be called successful either for Washington or for Beijing. China failed to obtain economic concessions from the United States, but relied on it. “The PRC is still highly dependent on American investment, the volume of which has decreased due to the sanctions wars,” the expert notes.
“Biden’s statement that he still considers Xi Jinping a dictator added fuel to the fire. However, the statement will not significantly affect relations between the two countries. China and the United States are not going through the best period of bilateral dialogue. The tendency towards escalation is clearly continuing,” the interlocutor specifies.
The continuing trend of escalation is evidenced by the lack of progress on the Taiwan issue. “In January, elections will be held on the island, which could intensify the confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region. However, for Russia, the meeting can be called positive. The meeting did not bring anything new to international politics,” he emphasizes.
“There has been no thaw in China-US relations: the status quo remains.” The countries are gradually moving towards a state of a new Cold War, which works to bring Moscow and Beijing even closer together. US sanctions against the Middle East will be strengthened, which theoretically could also affect Russia,” Dudakov believes.
“Joe Biden and Xi Jinping ‘clash’ from time to time. The American president calls the Chinese leader a dictator, and he, in turn, talks about the importance of abandoning the idea of defeating one another. It is clear that there is a misunderstanding between the parties to say the least. But the Biden administration will present dialogue with Xi as an achievement amid setbacks in Ukraine and the Middle East. And it is more profitable for Beijing to work with the Democrats than with the Republicans in the US,” concludes Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the US and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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