Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have renewed dialogue and noted their differences. A diplomatic blunder by the American president darkens the picture.
Four hours of talks between the American and Chinese presidents to try to re-establish a dialogue that had been in abeyance for a year, but also to expose their differences to the open.
The meeting took place in a plush residence about forty kilometers from San Francisco, and was “constructive and productive”, according to Joe Biden. A summit adjusted to the millimeter, after weeks of negotiations, in an estate nestled in the Californian hills, which served, for the anecdote, as a setting for the poisonous intrigues of the king soap opera of the 1980s, “Dynasty”.
The main advance is that the two superpowers have recorded a resumption of high-level military communications.
The 80-year-old Democrat assured that the two men could pick up the phone and speak to each other “directly and immediately” in the event of a crisis:
“In the months ahead, we will continue to preserve and pursue high-level diplomacy with the People’s Republic of China in both directions, to keep the lines of communication open, including between President Xi and myself . He and I agreed that any of us could pick up the phone, call directly and it would be heard immediately.”
The meeting was intended to give an impression of newfound serenity: Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, for example, briefly showed themselves to photographers during a short walk in a pretty garden. But no substantive dispute has obviously been resolved.
Taiwan remains a point of divergence.
Joe Biden stressed “the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”: “It is clear that we oppose Beijing’s non-trade economic practices and disadvantages that disadvantage American businesses and workers. And we will continue to do so.”
The Chinese president, for his part, urged his counterpart to “stop arming Taiwan”, since reunification is, according to him, “inevitable”, indicated a source in Chinese diplomacy.
“Enough room on the planet”
Trade and economic competition are also issues that deserve greater attention. Even if President XI believes that “the planet is big enough for both of our countries to prosper,” meaning there was enough room for two despite growing competition between China and the United States.
On other very specific points, the Chinese president agreed to take, according to the Americans, “a certain number of substantial measures to considerably reduce supplies” of fentanyl components.
This powerful synthetic opiate produced with chemical compounds originating in particular from China causes tens of thousands of overdoses each year in the United States.
The announcement is welcome for Joe Biden, campaigning for a second term.
Washington and Beijing have also decided to mobilize a group of experts to discuss the risks linked to artificial intelligence.
China ‘will not wage’ war on any country
After the summit with his American counterpart Joe Biden, President Xi declared that China will not initiate armed conflict against any country:
“No matter what stage of development we may reach, we will never seek hegemony or expansion, and never impose our will on others,” Xi told business professionals in San Francisco, adding that “China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not wage either a hot war or a cold war against any country.”
Washington also expected China, a close partner of Iran and Russia, not to aggravate major international crises: the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as the war in Ukraine.
Diplomatic snag
After the meeting with Xi Jinping, Joe Biden almost completely ruined the efforts of both parties during a press conference that he held alone.
“Well, he is,” replied the American president to a journalist who asked him if he would still describe his Chinese counterpart as a dictator.
“He is a dictator in the sense that here is a man who runs a country, a communist country, which is based on a form of government totally different from ours,” he clarified, trying to catch himself.
The expression has in the past sparked outrage in Beijing.
China obviously reacted shortly after.
“This type of speech is extremely wrong and constitutes irresponsible political manipulation. China firmly opposes it”declared Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.