The talks took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where world leaders are gathering to address pressing global issues from climate change to inflation and rising food prices, as the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine looms.
For Biden and Xi, the talks offered a rare opportunity to improve communication and discuss what Biden has called the “red lines” for each side, amid rising US-China tensions and an increasingly militarized standoff over Taiwan.
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Our live coverage of US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 has ended.
The big take-away from the summit? The communication lines are back open
Expectations for major changes to the rocky US-China relationship were low heading into Monday evening’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And the summaries of the meetings released by the two sides afterwards revealed on-going divisions over key issues like Taiwan, human rights, technology and trade.
But the roughly three-hour face-to-face between the leaders did appear to a deliver on a key opportunity both sides appeared keen for: bolstering their communication.
Dialogue between Beijing and Washington had hit a new low in August, when Beijing cancelled dialogue across a number of areas in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Both sides have expressed fears of the potential consequences of a misunderstanding.
In their respective statements following Monday’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20, both Washington and Beijing signaled that they would move forward on working together on a range of issues including climate change, health and food security — and they pledged to keep communication lines open.
The White House said the two leaders agreed to “empower key senior officials to maintain communication and deepen constructive efforts” on issues such as climate change, global macroeconomic stability including debt relief, health security, and global food security. It also said the leaders supported efforts to address specific issues in the US-China relationships through working groups and other mechanisms.
Secretary of State Blinken will visit China to follow up on their discussions, the White House said.
In a press conference following the meeting, Biden suggested that the open communication started with the leaders themselves this time around: “I want to be clear, and be clear with all leaders, but particularly with Xi Jinping that I mean what I say and I say what I mean. So there’s no misunderstanding – that’s the biggest concern.”
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Biden says 'there need not be a new Cold War' with China
Addressing the press following his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Monday, US President Joe Biden said “there need not be a new Cold War” with China, arguing conflict in competition between the two world powers can be avoided.
Biden told reporters that the two leaders “were candid and clear with one another across the board.” Adding, “I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War.”
The American President also said he does not think there is “any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan.”
Since taking office, Biden has repeatedly stated the US had an obligation to protect Taiwan should China attempt to invade. But at Monday’s press conference, Biden told reporters he “made it clear” to Xi “that our policy in Taiwan has not changed at all. It’s the same exact position we’ve had.”
“I made it clear that we want to see cross-strait issues peacefully resolved. And, and so it never has to come to that,” Biden said in reference to possible escalations. “And I’m convinced that he understood exactly what I was saying. I understood what he was saying.”
Biden said both parties will continue to communicate through staff and Cabinet levels on issues discussed during their meeting.
“Look, I think the United States is better prepared than any country in the world economically and politically, to deal with the changing circumstances around the world,” he added.
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Key takeaways from China's readout of Xi and Biden's meeting
Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke with US President Joe Biden for more than three hours in their first in-person meeting as top leaders.
China’s Foreign Ministry has released a 1,600-word readout of what it says was discussed during their talks, and here are the main takeaways:
China-US relations: In an apparent attempt to address US concerns about China’s ambitions, Xi told Biden “China does not seek to change the existing international order or interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, and has no intention to challenge or displace the United States.” He noted that China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game because the world is big enough for the two countries to coexist and “prosper together.”
Taiwan: Xi stressed “the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.” He urged the US to match its words with actions and abide by its one-China policy. The US’ one-China policy acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but does not accept its claim of sovereignty over the self-governing island.
Defending China’s system of governance: Xi pushed back at Biden framing the US’ rivalry with China as “democracy versus authoritarianism,” claiming China has what he termed “Chinese-style democracy.” He said neither the US or China “should try to remould the other in one’s own image, or seek to change or even subvert the other’s system.”
Economic decoupling: Xi criticized the US for attempting to build “walls and barriers,” and push for “decoupling and severing supply chains.” “We oppose politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade ties as well as exchanges in science and technology,” he said.
Ukraine: Xi said China is “highly concerned” about the current situation in Ukraine and “has all along stood on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks. But the readout made no direct mention of what the White House readout said was Xi and Biden’s joint opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Communication: According to the readout, the two leadersinstructed their teams to promptly follow up and implement the common understandings reached between them. They also agreed to maintain regular contact.
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Xi launches this week of diplomacy more powerful than ever before
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia and Simone McCarthy in Hong Kong
U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, on November 14, in Bali, Indonesia.
(Alex Brandon)
Xi Jinping’s handshake with US President Joe Biden has sent a clear message: the Chinese leader is now firmly back on the world stage.
Xi took no overseas trips since the start of the pandemic as China heavily restricted its borders and ramped up a stringent zero-Covid policy. Instead, the leader of the world’s second largest economy conducted “cloud diplomacy” beaming into events via video-link and hosting summits online, even as his counterparts returned to business as usual.
But now, as Xi emerges back onto the world stage with his participation at the G20 and APEC summits in Bali and Bangkok this week, he is doing so having concentrated more power than ever before at home – consolidated his status as the strongest Chinese leader since Chairman Mao Zedong.
Three weeks before Xi traveled to Bali, Indonesia to meet with Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit, he was anointed a norm-shattering third term in office at the Communist Party’s National Congress.
The key political meeting also saw Xi retiring key party leaders seen as not in his inner circle and stacking the party’s top ranks with his staunch allies, some of whom were sitting at the table alongside Xi during his meeting with Biden on Monday evening.
While Xi took one international trip prior to that major leadership reshuffle, it was for a regional meeting of that saw Russia, China, India and Central Asian leaders gather in Uzbekistan one month prior to the leadership reshuffle at home.
Now, as he has consolidated power at home, it’s clear that Xi is prepared to more squarely focus his attention on the international stage to address perceived threats to China there – with the meeting with Biden being a key milestone in that new chapter of Xi’s third term.
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Biden says he's not certain how much influence Beijing has on North Korea's provocations
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
US President Joe Biden says he isn’t certain whether China has the ability to influence North Korea’s decision-making when it comes to nuclear or missile tests.
But he said he believes Chinese leader Xi Jinping does not want further escalatory action by Pyongyang, and sought to underscore what further provocations from the North might mean for the US presence in the region.
“I made it clear to President Xi Jinping that I thought they had an obligation to attempt to make it clear to North Korea that they should not engage in long range nuclear tests and I made it clear as well that if they did, they meaning North Korea, that we would have to take certain actions that would be more defensive on our behalf and it would not be directed against…China,” Biden said at a news conference in Bali after meeting with Xi for several hours.
“It’s difficult to determine whether or not China has the capacity” to convince Kim Jong Un to back off his tests, Biden said. “I’m confident China is not looking for North Korea to engage in further escalatory means.”
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Biden says no "imminent attempt" by China to invade Taiwan
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
US President Joe Biden says he did not interpret any “imminent attempt” by China to invade self-governing Taiwan after meeting for more than three hours with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Biden said in their talks, he made clear the US policy toward Taiwan had not changed, despite saying four times ahead of the talks the US would defend Taiwan militarily if China were to move on the self-governing island.
“I made it clear that we want to see cross-strait issues peacefully resolved, so it never has to come to that,” Biden said of any potenital conflict over Taiwan.
“I’m convinced that that he understood exactly what I was saying,” Biden said of the conversation on Taiwan.
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Biden says he will manage China and Xi's competition "responsibly"
From CNN's Betsy Klein
US President Joe Biden said he plans to manage China and its leader Xi Jinping’s competition “responsibly” as he recapped their three-hour meeting Monday evening in Bali, detailing topics of an “open and candid” discussion.
He continued, “We’re going to compete vigorously, but I’m not looking for conflict. I’m going to manage his competition responsibly.”
Biden said he told Xi that the US One China policy “has not changed” and the US “(opposes) unilateral change in the status quo by either side.”
He said the US and China “should be able to work together where we can to solve global challenges that require every nation to do its part.”
Other topics included Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a shared “belief in the threat for the use of nuclear weapons is totally unacceptable.”
Biden reiterated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China for follow-up meetings.
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Biden touts the strength of US democracy in the midterm elections after Xi meeting
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
U.S. President Joe Biden holds a news conference following his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, ahead of the G20 leaders' summit, in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14.
(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
US President Joe Biden began his press conference in Bali by speaking about the “strength and resilience” of American democracy following the recent midterm elections.
During the campaign season, the President sought to cast the election as a referendum on election denialism and political violence, warning the future of American democracy was in danger and on the ballot in November.
Since Biden’s departure from Washington for his multi-leg international trip, results from Arizona and Nevada have shown that Democrats are poised to keep a majority in the US Senate.
“What we saw was the strength and resilience in American democracy. We saw it in action. The American people prove once again that democracy is who we are,” Biden said from the podium on Monday after his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Biden said the elections showed “a strong rejection of election deniers at every level from those seeking to lead our states and noses to get to serve in Congress and also those seeking to oversee the elections. And there was a strong rejection of political violence and voter intimidation.”
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Biden addresses the press following Xi meeting
President Joe Biden walks to speak during a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia on November 14.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
US President Joe Biden is delivering comments to media in Bali, following the conclusion of his roughly three-hour meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
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Taiwan question is at the "very core of China’s core interests": Chinese Foreign Ministry
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden had a “candid and in-depth exchange of views” on strategically important issues in bilateral relations as well as major global issues, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout of the two leaders’ meeting.
In the 1,600-word readout, the ministry said the world is big enough for the two countries to coexist and prosper together.
“The two sides should form a correct perception of each other’s domestic and foreign policies and strategic intentions,” it said.
“China does not seek to change the existing international order or interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, and has no intention to challenge or displace the United States.”
The ministry said Xi gave a full account of China’s position on the Taiwan issue during the meeting.
“He stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations,” it said.
“Anyone that seeks to split Taiwan from China will be violating the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation; the Chinese people will absolutely not let that happen!” it added.
Xi also defended China’s human rights records and governance system, saying that China has “Chinese-style democracy” that fits its national conditions, according to the readout. He acknowledged the differences between China and the US, but stressed that they should not become “an obstacle to growing China-US relations.”
“The Chinese nation has the proud tradition of standing up for itself. Suppression and containment will only strengthen the will and boost the morale of the Chinese people,” the readout said.
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China says its supports peace talks on Ukraine, following Biden-Xi meeting, but makes no direct mention of nuclear threat
Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden during a meeting Monday that China is “highly concerned about the current situation in Ukraine” and “has all along stood on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks,” according to a readout released by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Xi also enumerated steps the international community to take to address the crisis, and called for “confrontation between major countries must be avoided.”
But the Chinese side’s account lacked direct mention of a key point presented in a readout released by White House following the roughly three-hour meeting between the two leaders.
Instead, Beijing’s statement referenced “the four things the international community must do together” that Xi suggested “recently,” without specifying the occasion and what those things are.
In early November in his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Xi said the international community should jointly support efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war and should come together to oppose the threat or actual use of nuclear weapons.
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Biden and Xi reiterate opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine: White House
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, on November 14 in Bali, Indonesia.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden exchanged views on key regional and global challenges, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a White House readout of the talks Monday.
“President Biden raised Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and Russia’s irresponsible threats of nuclear use. President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” said the White House.
“President Biden also raised concerns about the DPRK’s provocative behavior, noted all members of the international community have an interest in encouraging the DPRK to act responsibly, and underscored the United States’ ironclad commitment to defending our Indo-Pacific Allies,” according to the White House.
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Biden raised Taiwan and Xinjiang with Xi during talks: White House
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
US President Joe Biden, left, and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping “spoke candidly about their respective priorities and intentions across a range of issues” during their face to face talks in Bali on Monday, according to a White House readout of the meeting.
“President Biden explained that the United States will continue to compete vigorously with the (China), including by investing in sources of strength at home and aligning efforts with allies and partners around the world,” the White House said.
“He reiterated that this competition should not veer into conflict and underscored that the United States and China must manage the competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication.”
The White House said Biden underscored areas of potential cooperation, including on climate change. But he also raised human rights concerns, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. And he addressed Taiwan, saying “the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and the world has an interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
“He raised US objections to the People’s Republic of China’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardize global prosperity,” Biden said, according to the White House.
They agreed the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit China for follow-up talks.
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Biden to address media soon
The meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 wrapped Monday evening local time after just over three hours of closed-door discussions.
Biden will address the press in a conference shortly, where he is expected to go over the key points, while China will likely be preparing to release its own readout of the meeting.
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Xi's support of Putin to be tested by Biden meeting outcome
From CNN's Simone McCarthy in Hong Kong
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, China, on February 4.
With the war in Ukraine and its economic fallout looming over this year’s G20 summit, Xi Jinping’s stance on the conflict is set to be put to the test – both in his talks with US President Joe Biden and over the course of the subsequent two-day summit.
Since the start of Russia’s assault on neighboring Ukraine, China has said it supports peace and claimed to not choose sides, while refusing to condemn the invasion and instead criticizing Western sanctions, spending record levels on Russian energy and accusing NATO and Washington of pushing Moscow to war.
The US and its allies have kept close watch over whether China would send any material support for the war effort to Putin – with whom Xi has a close personal rapport – especially as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian borders just weeks after Xi and Putin declared their countries’ partnership had “no limits.”
While Western officials have not said they’ve found signs of such support, they have tried to push China to use its relationship with Russia to end the conflict and broker peace.
Such conversations are likely to have been on the table during the lengthy conversations between Xi, Biden and their top officials on Monday night in Bali. And the rest of the world will be watching how Xi navigates the pressure, especially following a series of recent events altering the situation in Ukraine, including Putin’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, his nuclear threats, and the Russian’s military’s growing losses in Ukraine.
Those stakes are even higher for Xi as his attendance at the summit marks only the second time that he has traveled abroad since the start of the pandemic, as China continues to maintain border controls and a strict zero-Covid policy. This meeting places Xi alongside the US and other NATO leaders who have rallied behind Ukraine – even at the cost of their own energy security. Putin has declined to attend the summit in person.
His G20 attendance cuts a stark contrast to Xi’s first oversees meeting earlier this fall, when he joined Russian leader Vladimir Putin and central Asian counterparts for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan. That summit signaled Xi’s preference for an alternate world order free from what Beijing sees as US hegemony.
His current visit to the G20 and upcoming trip to the APEC leader’s summit in Bangkok later in the week indicate a different signal: an apparent bid to bolster China’s standing amid rising tensions with the West.
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Biden-Xi meeting wraps after more than three hours: Chinese state media
From CNN’s Wayne Chang in Hong Kong
The high-stakes meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali has ended at 8:48pm local time Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
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Biden-Xi talks hit three hour mark
A public news broadcast shows US President Joe Biden during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Bali, on a screen in Hong Kong, China, on November 14.
(Lam Yik/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The high-stakes meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi has hit its three hour mark. The talks began at 4:41 a.m. ET // 5:41 p.m. local time.
Ahead of the meeting, US officials said there wasn’t a set time limit but suggested they expected the meeting to run “a couple hours.”
“I think it’ll be a couple hours. Could go longer than that, might not,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One en route Bali.
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The Group of Two
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
China's President Xi Jinping meets US President on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
The Xi-Biden meeting may be taking place on the sidelines of the G20, but Chinese leader Xi Jinping made it clear in his opening remarks the world’s most important relationship was the G2 – China and the United States.
“Currently the China-US relationship is in such a situation that we all care a lot about it, because this is not the fundamental interest of our two countries and peoples, and it is not what the international community expects (from) us,” said Xi.
“As leaders of the two major countries we need to chart the right course for the US-China relationship,” he added.
As the world’s two foremost economic and military powers, the US and China are uniquely placed to help combat many of the international community’s most pressing challenges, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the devastation of climate change.
“In this time and age great changes are unfolding in ways like never before, humanity is confronted with unprecedented challenges, the world has come to a crossroads,” said Xi.
“Where to go from here is a question that is not only on our minds, but also on the minds of all countries.”
But the question, however, is to what extent both sides are willing to cast aside their differences to work together to address such challenges.
Biden has said before the meeting that he is not willing to make any fundamental concessions to Xi, and his aides have repeatedly said they don’t expect major breakthroughs.
When asked about China’s expectations for the meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Friday that China “calls for establishing the right way forward for bilateral relations.”
“At the same time, we firmly defend our sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said.
That doesn’t sound like China has much appetite for making concession, either.
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The view from Beijing
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Analysts from both the US and China have cautioned that the talks are unlikely to result in any major breakthroughs or dramatic shifts in the relationship.
Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Beijing’s Renmin University, speaking to CNN in the days leading up the meeting, said it would be an “enormous over-expectation” to believe the meeting can lead to any lasting and significant improvement in bilateral ties.
There was also likely to be little room for breakthrough on other key topics on the agenda including Russia’s war in Ukraine, North Korea’s ongoing provocations and climate change, according to Shi.
And when it came to climate cooperation, Shi said, while China and the US may have common interests, “when it comes to how to deal with climate change specifically, it always leads to antagonism on policies and rivalry over ideology and global influence.”
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Biden's team in the room
From CNN's Simone McCarthy in Hong Kong
US President Joe Biden meets, center, talks with his team during a meeting with China's President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden began talks with counterpart Xi Jinping flanked by members of his administration who would have played key roles in the President’s preparation in the lead-up to the high-stakes talk.
Biden’s delegation included two cabinet-level officials – a relative rarity for bilateral meetings that is a reflection of the importance the administration is placing on the meeting. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen were seated to Biden’s two sides as the group took their places opposite the Chinese delegation.
Blinken has been a leading figure shaping the US’ current China policy, laying out the administration’s approach in a long-awaited speech in May that called Beijing the “most serious long-term challenge to the international order.”
Yellen has repeatedly taken a sharp line about the need to reduce US dependence on Chinese supply chains, but expressed interest in more concentrated engagements – including over how US and Chinese policies impact the global economy – during comments to reporters earlier in the day.
Also at the table was national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who met with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in a key meeting in June in Luxembourg – seen a precursor to the Biden-Xi face-to-face – and also joined the notoriously contentious meeting between US and Chinese officials in Alaska alongside Blinken in March 2021.
Biden’s delegation also included a number of Asia-focused officials, including US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink. In addition, four Asia and China-focused National Security Council officials were also present for the talks, according a list provided by the White House.
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What’s at stake for the world’s top two economies as Biden and Xi meet
From CNN Business' Juliana Liu in Hong Kong
When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, there were expectations on both sides of the Pacific that he would back away from the trade war his predecessor started with China nearly three years earlier.
Frustrated by China’s huge trade surplus and accusing it of stealing US intellectual property, former President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods in June 2018. Beijing countered with its own tariffs, and the spiral continued until a so-called truce was agreed in 2020.
Instead of rolling back those measures, Biden hasquietly intensified the trade conflict. In October, his administration imposed sweeping new curbs designed to curtail China’s access to technology critical to its growing military power.
Against this backdrop of rising competition, and amid fears of a global recession, the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Monday.
Speaking with reporters in Bali, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the meeting was intended to stabilize the relationship and expressed hopes that it would lay the groundwork for bilateral economic engagement.
The stakes are high for both sides, as well as the rest of the world. China, with its nearly $18 trillion economy, has in recent years been the main driver of global growth.But Covid lockdowns and a real estate crisis have slammed the brakes on its expansion this year.
While expectations for the meeting are low, it’s crucial for the two sides to re-engage, Mattie Bekink, the Shanghai-based China director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network, told CNN Business.
For decades, regular lines of communications existed between US officials and their Chinese counterparts, but most of those avenues were cut off after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in July.
Biden's goal: Prevent China and the US from going to war
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
U.S. President Joe Biden listens during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
Launching his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Joe Biden laid out neatly what he hopes to gain from the talks.
Boiled down, his goal is this: prevent the two countries from going to war.
“We share responsibility, in my view, to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation,” he said.
Preventing conflict may seem, on its surface, a rudimentary ambition for the world’s two largest economies and militaries. But at a moment when US-China relations are at their lowest level in decades, it is telling Biden and his team have stated so explicitly what they are trying to prevent.
Ahead of the talks, American officials repeatedly said their objective in meeting Xi was to “build a floor” for ties with Beijing, implying the relationship cannot spiral any further.
They did not expect any of the major differences with China to be resolved by the time the meeting breaks up Monday night. But they do hope by talking directly, the risk of a misunderstanding spiraling out of control is avoided.
US officials have watched with caution as China escalates its provocations around the self-governing island of Taiwan, and have looked for signals of Xi’s intentions.
So far, they have not seen indications Xi has decided to make a move on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as it own. But there is a growing consensus in Washington that it is not a matter of whether but when, and many analysts believe the timeline is shrinking.
It is in that context Biden was delivering his message to Xi, who himself has watched with anger as the US sends massive shipments of defensive weapons to Taiwan.
Explaining each others’ “red line” — what might trigger a military response — could be the most important information to emerge from Monday’s talks.
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Xi's loyalists at the table
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
China's President Xi Jinping, right, meets US President on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is accompanied at Monday’s meeting with US President Biden by a number of newly promoted loyalists.
Seated next to Xi on the right is Ding Xuexiang, Xi’s chief of staff and one of his most loyal and trusted aides.
Ding, 60, was promoted from the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo into its supreme Standing Committee as its youngest member at the party’s National Congress last month.
He is the most senior Chinese official at the meeting after Xi, and is expected to be appointed the executive vice premier to help the new premier manage the world’s second largest economy.
Also sitting at the table is He Lifeng, another close aide of Xi’s who was promoted into the Politburo at the congress.
He, who heads China’s state planning agency, is tipped to replace the country’s economic czar Liu He as the vice premier for economic affairs.
Xi began a norm-breaking third term with an even greater concentration of power, after retiring key party leaders from the top ruling body to make room for his own allies.
The week-long Communist Party Congress, which concluded in late October, saw Xi assume a norm-breaking third term – amassing an even greater concentration of power after retiring key party leaders from the top ruling body to make room for his own allies.
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High stakes, but low expectations as Xi and Biden meet
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Biden and Xi
(Getty Images)
Monday’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is now underway. It’s the first in-person encounter between the two men since Biden took office – and comes at a crucial time for both leaders.
Having further consolidated his power at last month’s Communist Party Congress, Xi is heading into the meeting as the strongest Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.
Biden, meanwhile, arrived in Asia following a better-than-expected performance by his party in the US midterm elections – with the Democrats projected to keep the Senate in a major victory. Asked Sunday whether the results allowed him to go into Monday’s face-to-face with a stronger hand, Biden voiced confidence.
The stakes for the discussions are high. In a world reeling from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and the devastation of climate change, the two major powers need to work together more than ever to instill stability – instead of driving deeper tensions along geopolitical fault lines.
Perhaps the only real common ground the two sides share going into the meeting is their limited hopes for what might come out of it.
A senior White House official said Thursday Biden wants to use the talks to “build a floor” for the relationship – in other words, to prevent it from free falling into open conflict.
The main objective of the sit-down is not about reaching agreements or deliverables – the two leaders will not release any joint statement afterward – but about gaining a better understanding of each other’s priorities and reducing misconceptions, according to the US official.
Beijing has sent similar messaging, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday saying China hopes the two countries could “properly manage differences, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.”
US President Joe Biden, left, and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have begun bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia Monday evening local time.
Both leaders gave brief opening remarks and exchanged pleasantries in front of media, before the press were swiftly ushered from the room for the start of the high-stakes talks.
On the US side, Biden was accompanied by a team including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and Ambassador of the United States to the People’s Republic of China Nicholas Burns.
Xi was flanked by officials including Director of the Chinese Communist Party General Office Ding Xuexiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
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China's Xi: "Our meeting has attracted the world's attention"
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14.
(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the world is paying attention to the high-stakes meeting between him and US President Biden.
“Currently the China-US relationship is in such a situation that we all care a lot about it because this is not the fundamental interest of our two countries and peoples, and it is not what the international community expects (from) us,” Xi said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
“As leaders of the two major countries we need to chart the right course for the US China relationship. We need to find the right direction for the bilateral relationship going forward and elevate the relationship,” he added, speaking through a translator.
Xi said he was a ready to have a “candid and in-depth” exchange of views with Biden on issues of strategic importance on China-US relations and on major global and regional issues.
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Biden and Xi sit down for their high-stakes meeting
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
US President Joe Biden, left, and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have sat down at their tables, flanked by officials on each side.
Biden and Xi both were unmasked, while the other officials in the room were all wearing masks as a Covid-19 precaution.
“I’m committed to keep lines of communication open between you and me personally, but our governments across the board, because our two countries have so much that we have the opportunity to deal with,” said Biden in opening remarks.
“As the leaders of our two nations where share responsibility in my view to show that China and the US can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything even near conflict and find ways to work together on urgent, global issues that require our mutual cooperation.”
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Biden and Xi's first handshake as leaders
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
US President Joe Biden, right, and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shook hands for the first time as leaders in their first in-person meeting since Biden took office nearly two years ago.
Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, the two leaders greeted each other with a firm, long handshake, both smiling, standing in front of a row of US and Chinese flags.
They smiled for cameras and Xi – through a translator – appeared to say, “Good to see you.”
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President Biden leaves for meeting location
President Joe Biden has departed his hotel to head to the luxury beachside resort on Nusa Dua bay in Bali, where he will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Biden’s most senior advisers are expected to accompany him as part of his official delegation, while Xi is expected to similarly surround himself with top aides, several of whom are likely to be new, owing to the ongoing transition inside Xi’s inner circle.
Biden’s aides have not set a time limit for the meeting, though Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said he expected the talks to run “a couple hours” but could extend longer.
“It’s a meeting on the margins of an international summit. So it’s not itself a kind of summit where they’re coming together in a third country or in Washington and Beijing,” he said. “So, we haven’t set a time limit on the conversation.”
Sullivan said Biden would be “totally straightforward and direct” in the meeting, and expected Xi to be similarly candid in return.
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Biden has been prepping extensively for his meeting with Xi: advisors
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
U.S. President Joe Biden listens during a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on November 13, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
(Alex Brandon/AP)
President Biden has been preparing extensively for his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi, according to advisors, including running through particular scenarios that could arise during the talks.
Biden reads a large amount before these meetings and speaks at length with his senior advisers and China experts on his team.
“He goes through ‘if this happens, then should we handle it this way,’” an official said.
With Xi in particular, Biden feels a special obligation to come as prepared as possible in the knowledge that US-China ties have an outsized importance on the entire world.
Officials said they expected Biden’s senior-most advisers to accompany him as part of his official delegation in Monday’s meeting.
And the official said they expected Xi to similarly surround himself with top aides, though the US team entered the meeting expecting to see some new faces on the Chinese side amid an ongoing transition inside Xi’s inner circle.
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Where are Biden and Xi meeting?
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
View of The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, where US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are meeting on November 14 on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit.
(Nectar Gan/CNN)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be meeting at The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel on Nusa Dua bay in Bali.
The sprawling resort, lush with tall palm trees, is where the Chinese delegation is staying during the G20. The Russian delegation and Australian delegation are also staying here.
It’s about a 10-minute drive from the US delegation’s Grand Hyatt hotel.
Footage of the meeting room aired by China’s state broadcaster CCTV shows two long tables underneath rows of chandeliers, with nine seats placed on each side.
A senior US administration official said in a background briefing Monday that Biden’s “closest advisers” will be participating the meeting, with a “handful of trusted interlocutors” on both sides. The official added there will be a number of “new faces” on Xi’s team, who are expected to take up important roles to manage China’s relations with the US.
View of The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, where US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are meeting on November 14 on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit.
(Nectar Gan/CNN)
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Australian PM says he is looking forward to a “constructive discussion” with China's Xi
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Angus Watson
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talks to the media upon arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport ahead of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday.
(Firdia Lisnawati/AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he’ll be meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sides of the G20 summit, and he looks forward to a “constructive discussion.”
Australian-Chinese relations have deteriorated rapidly in recent years, following calls from the Australian government for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, and growing concerns over Beijing’s influence in domestic affairs.
Speaking to journalists after touching down in Bali on Monday, Albanese said Australia will “put forward our own position” during the bilateral meeting with China on Tuesday and was looking forward to having a “constructive discussion with President Xi.”
When questioned regarding the message Australia will convey to China about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Albanese responded: “We have a very clear position, and it’s a consistent position, that there is a need for Russia to withdraw from this aggressive action.”
He also addressed the topic of China’s sanctions on Australian exports, including beef, barley, wine, and rock lobster, stressing that Australia will enter the discussion “with goodwill” with “no preconditions.”
Some context: The expected sit-down comes amid signals of an easing of tensions in the relationship, and follows a meeting between Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday during a weekend of meetings linked to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
During the meeting, Li said China was ready “to meet Australia halfway,” after a “difficult patch” for Chinese Australian relations, according to Chinese official state news agency Xinhua News Agency.
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Biden and Xi: a decade of diplomacy
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Joe Biden with Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on August 18, 2011.
(Nelson Ching/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
When Joe Biden and Xi Jinping first got to know each other more than 10 years ago, the US and China had been moving closer for three decades despite their differences.
Seated next to Xi in a Beijing hotel, Biden told a room of Chinese and American business leaders about his “great optimism about the next 30 years” for bilateral relations and praised Xi for being “straightforward.”
During that getting-to-know-you trip to China in 2011, the two leaders shared a marathon of meetings and meals in Beijing and the southwestern city of Chengdu. They also took a trip deep into the green mountains of Sichuan province to visit a rural high school rebuilt after a deadly earthquake.
The next year, Xi paid a reciprocal visit to the US at the invitation of Biden, who hosted his Chinese counterpart for dinner at his residency after a series of meetings at the White House, State Department and the Pentagon. Biden also flew to Los Angeles to meet Xi on the last leg of his trip.
Continued rapport: Their in-person encounters continued after Xi took power in 2012 – Biden has claimed that as vice president, he spent north of 70 hours with Xi and traveled 17,000 miles with him across China and the United States – both exaggerations, but still reflective of a relationship that is now perhaps the most important on the planet.
The last time they met face to face was in 2015, during Xi’s first state visit to the US as China’s top leader, while Biden was still vice president.
Shifting ties: But as relations between their countries plummeted, the once friendly dynamics between the two leaders have also shifted.
Xi is an ideological hardliner who believes in China’s return to the center of the world stage and is skeptical – some would say hostile – toward America. Biden, meanwhile, has grown increasingly weary of China’s authoritarian turn under Xi, and has framed the rivalry between the two countries as a battle between autocracy and democracy.
Last summer, Biden publicly pushed back on being described as an “old friend” of Xi’s.
China's Foreign Ministry lays out expectations for Xi-Biden meeting
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning attends a press conference in Beijing, on September 8.
(Kyodo News/Getty Images)
China’s Foreign Ministry called its policy and position toward the United States “consistent and clear,” during comments in a regularly scheduled press briefing in Beijing ahead of the highly anticipated face-to-face between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Monday.
“We are committed to achieving mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation with the United States, while firmly defending our own sovereignty, security and development interests,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
China hopes that the US and China would “move in the same direction, properly manage differences, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, and promote the return of China-US relations to the right track of healthy and stable development,” according to Mao.
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Bali
From CNN's Nectar Gan in Bali, Indonesia
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, right, waves as he arrives at Ngurah Rai International airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday.
(Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Bali, Indonesia on Monday afternoon for the G20 leaders’ summit, just hours before his highly-anticipated meeting with US President Joe Biden.
This is Xi’s first trip abroad since he began a norm-breaking third term in power at last month’s Communist Party Congress, where he further consolidated power to become China’s strongest leader since Chairman Mao Zedong.
Xi disembarked from an Air China plane with his wife, Peng Liyuan, shortly after 3 p.m. local time to a welcome ceremony on the tarmac, where he was greeted by a traditional Balinese dance.
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Biden’s past promises for US to defend Taiwan under microscope in meeting with China’s Xi
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Self-governing Taiwan has emerged as the sorest subject in an increasingly frosty relationship between Washington and Beijing. It is certain to be one of the more contentious points of discussion between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet here Monday for their first face-to-face encounter since Biden took office.
Senior US administration officials said Biden would be “honest” in voicing his views on Taiwan when he meets Xi, a signal the conversation would not gloss over the two men’s deep disagreements.
For his part, Xi is fond of using a specific metaphor to warn Biden against overstepping: “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” he told the US president over the telephone in July as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was preparing to visit Taiwan with a congressional delegation.
That trip, which the Biden administration quietly sought to dissuade Pelosi from taking, prompted a steep decline in relations between the US and China. In response, Beijing launched military drills around the island and shut off nearly all communication with US officials, including through military channels meant to prevent unintentional conflict.
Every matter associated with this meeting has been "carefully considered, negotiated, and engaged," says senior US administration official
From CNN's Kevin Liptak in Bali, Indonesia
US-China relations have deteriorated rapidly amid economic disputes and an increasingly militarized standoff over Taiwan.
The tensions have led to a decline in cooperation on areas where the two countries once shared common interests, like combating climate change and containing North Korea’s nuclear program.
Planning for Monday’s meeting predated Pelosi’s trip, and discussions continued between US and Chinese officials despite Beijing’s furor. The process was “serious, very sustained and professional in the best traditions of US-China diplomacy,” the official said.
A second official acknowledged the talks setting up the meeting were not always friendly.
“I won’t say that the conversations weren’t contentious because obviously there’s lots of areas where we have differences and challenges,” the official said. “The dozens of hours we have spent talking to our Chinese counterparts has definitely surfaced many of those issues.”
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Yellen says Biden-Xi meeting intended to “stabilize” US-China relationship
From CNN's Phil Mattingly in Bali, Indonesia
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC on October 14.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the high stakes first sit down between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping was intended to stabilize a teetering relationship, and detailed hopes it would lay the groundwork for “intensive” bilateral economic engagement.
Yellen’s remarks track with a clear effort to take down the temperature on a relationship between the world’s two largest economies that has grown increasingly contentious – and not always with clear lines of communication – over the course of Biden’s time in office.
“First and foremost, the meeting today is intended to make to stabilize the relationship between the United States and China,” Yellen told a small group of reporters in Bali ahead of Biden’s meeting Monday.
At the heart of that effort to stabilize that relationship may be clear instructions to open lines of communication that for years existed between high-level US officials and their Chinese counterparts but have faced an undeniable chill the last two years.
The stakes for the global economy are significant, with uncertainty about China’s economic picture serving as a central factor driving fears of recession around the world.
While Yellen noted she’d held conversations over the last two years with her Chinese counterparts, she made clear there is an interest in more concentrated engagements.
That communication is viewed as increasingly critical in the wake of aggressive US actions to cut off China’s access to certain technology, accelerating the intensity of an economic and technological competition that rivals and, in many cases, overlaps with its military counterpart.
Still, the former Federal Reserve chair who serves as Biden’s top economic official made clear the opportunity to discuss the issues would bring important clarity to US intentions.
“We know they have concerns around it,” Yellen said of recently imposed export controls tied to semiconductors. “I think it’s important for us to be able to clarify with them, their concerns are and what our objectives are.”
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What to expect as Biden and Xi meet in Bali
President Joe Biden, left, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
(Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are meeting for the first time face-to-face since Biden took office in 2021 in an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss major points of tension and seek to find ways to keep open communication, while locked in great power competition.
Biden told a news conference last week that he wants to “lay out what each of our red lines are” when he sits down with Xi. The White House reiterated this aim with a statement saying “the leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication … responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align.”
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said it was important for the two sides to “properly manage differences,” “avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation” and bring China-US relations back to “the right track.” But China would also “firmly defend (its) sovereignty, security and development interests,” a spokesperson said when asked about the meeting at a regular briefing last week.
Both leaders are entering the sit-down with momentum from their respective domestic politics behind them. Last month, Xi secured a norm-shattering third term surrounded by close allies, while Biden arrived in Asia over the weekend fresh from better-than-expected mid-term election results for his party.
Here’s what’s expected to be on the table:
Better communication: Both sides have expressed interest in improving communication and reducing the risk of a misunderstanding that could flare tensions or even see the two powers veer into conflict. In August, China cut off dialogue with the United States in a number of areas in response to a visit from US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Taiwan: The self-governing, democratic island – one of the most contentious issues between Biden and Xi – is expected to a key area of discussion between the two leaders. Xi has pledged to “reunify” the island, which Beijing has never controlled, with the mainland. Biden has enraged Beijing by saying the United States had an obligation to protect Taiwan should China move on it – in a seeming departure from long-standing US policy.
War in Ukraine: A conflict looming large over the G20, Xi and Biden are likely to look for points of agreement on the conflict in Ukraine. China has claimed neutrality, but has refused to condemn Russia’s aggression. Biden may seek to push for Xi to use his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for peace.
North Korea: North Korea’s ongoing provocations in the region through its ramping up of missile tests is another subject likely to be on the table. The US is also looking for China to assert its influence to prevent further conflict here.
Human rights: Biden is expected to raise US concerns about China’s human rights record. The US accuses China of committing genocide against the Muslim minority population in the western Xinjiang region.
