The "preparatory" visit went smoothly, is the US-China Summit definitely within reach?

It seems that both Washington and Beijing are ready for the US-China Summit on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Both sides feel that the other side is sincere enough to sit down together.

Tín hiệu lạc quan về cuộc gặp thượng đỉnh Mỹ-Trung

US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the White House on October 28. (Source: Xinhua)

Sincere enough for the important event

A US official said that President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to meet on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco next November.

Specifically, the two sides reached an agreement in principle to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on October 27.

The official added that the two sides have yet to agree on specific information about time, location and other related logistical issues.

In a statement after the October 27 meeting, the White House said the two sides were “working toward” a face-to-face meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Forum.

Biden met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi for an hour-long conversation in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on the morning of October 27. This was the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the two sides as they explore the possibility of stabilizing the increasingly tense US-China relationship at a time of conflict in Ukraine and Israel.

The White House said President Biden “emphasized that both the United States and China need to manage competition in their relationship responsibly and maintain open channels of communication.” The leader also specifically noted that “the United States and China must work together to address global challenges.”

Previously, Beijing had not confirmed whether Xi Jinping would come to San Francisco to attend the annual APEC Summit taking place from November 11-17.

On October 29, in a statement alluding to the planned meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Biden, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that “the road to the San Francisco Summit will not be smooth.”

China's Foreign Ministry said Wang Yi made the remarks after discussions with members of the US strategic community in Washington.

Last month, China's top security agency demanded that any meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Biden in San Francisco hinge on the US "showing sufficient sincerity."

"Stability" - benefits the whole world

Foreign Minister Wang Yi just had a 3-day visit to Washington (October 26-29) and met with top US officials.

According to Reuters news agency, during the meeting, President Biden's top aides raised Washington's main concerns such as the need to restore military channels between the two countries, Beijing's actions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea; "frank exchanges" about conflicts breaking out in the Middle East...

Speaking to the press on October 28, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby continued to emphasize: "The meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US officials are an opportunity for all parties to explore and seek solutions to maintain open communication channels, including military communication channels between the two sides, which have been closed."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Washington at a time when tensions between the two countries remain high, including over US export controls on advanced technologies and China's more assertive actions in the East and South China Seas.

On October 26, the US military released a video showing a Chinese fighter jet flying within 10 feet of a US B-52 bomber over the South China Sea, nearly causing a collision. Earlier this month, the Pentagon released video of some of the more than 180 intercepts of US warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred over the past two years, part of a trend that worries US military officials.

According to analysts, Mr. Wang Yi’s visit demonstrates the strong desire of both the US and China to both stabilize and enhance wide-ranging communication between the two sides. This is beneficial not only to the economies of both countries but also to the world.

The last time the Chinese president visited the US was in 2017, when former President Donald Trump hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. President Biden, who takes office in 2021, has yet to host Xi Jinping on US soil. The two last met in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.

US-China relations began to sour in 2018 when the Trump administration imposed heavy tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, said the upcoming Biden-Xi Jinping summit will bring much-needed stability to the relationship between the two countries.

“The key word here is ‘stabilization’ of bilateral relations – not really improvement but stability. The world needs the US and China to follow a reasonable path and stabilize their relationship, bringing more certainty to the region and the world,” the expert stressed.

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