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China’s FM: Xi-Biden Summit in San Francisco won’t be ‘smooth-sailing’

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi considers that the road to an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden would not be “smooth-sailing” and that both sides must work together to achieve results, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Quick Read

  • China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, predicts that the path to a meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden will not be “smooth-sailing.”
  • Wang Yi met Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during a three-day visit to Washington.
  • Both nations are working towards a bilateral meeting at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in November.
  • Wang emphasized that they cannot rely on “autopilot” for the meeting to take place.
  • His visit occurs amidst heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over various issues, including U.S. export controls and China’s actions in the East and South China seas.
  • Despite existing issues, both sides recognize the importance of maintaining dialogue.
  • Recent high-level interactions between the two nations aim to stabilize the tense relationship, especially in the backdrop of conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.
  • Wang referred to a “return to Bali,” referencing a G20 summit last year where Xi and Biden discussed various matters, including Taiwan, trade tensions, climate change, health, and food security.
  • Wang emphasized the need for both countries to “eliminate interference, overcome obstacles, enhance consensus, and accumulate results.”
  • Topics of discussion between Wang and Biden also included U.S.-China military exchanges, financial, technological, and cultural cooperation, and the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The Associated Press has the story:

China’s FM: Xi-Biden Summit in San Francisco won’t be ‘smooth-sailing’

Newslooks- BEIJING (AP)

China’s foreign minister considers that the road to an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden would not be “smooth-sailing” and that both sides must work together to achieve results, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Wang Yi met with Biden, as well as secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan, during a three-day visit to Washington. Both sides agreed to work toward a bilateral meeting at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in San Francisco in November.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, with their delegations during a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

In an statement released by China’s foreign ministry summarizing the discussions with members of the “U.S. strategic community,” Wang said that the road to the bilateral meeting would not be “smooth sailing” and that they could not rely on “autopilot” to make it happen.

Wang’s three-day visit to Washington came at a time when tensions between the two countries remain high, including over U.S. export controls on advanced technology and China’s more assertive actions in the East and South China seas.

The statement said that although there are still many issues to be resolved, both sides believe that it is both beneficial and necessary for the U.S. and China to maintain dialogue.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Secretary of State Antony Blinken talk to reporters after a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The meeting is the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the two countries as they explore the possibility of stabilizing an increasingly tense relationship at a time of conflict in Ukraine and Israel.

According to the foreign ministry statement, Wang also said that China and the U.S. needed a “return to Bali,” in a reference to Xi and Biden’s previous meeting at a G20 summit last year, where both officials discussed issues relating to Taiwan, U.S.-China trade tensions as well as cooperation to address issues like climate change, health and food security.

FILE – U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia Nov. 14, 2022. Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are generally united in voicing concern about China. The question is how to translate that worry into action. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Wang said that the two countries must “eliminate interference, overcome obstacles, enhance consensus and accumulate results.”

Other issues discussed between Wang and Biden included military exchanges between the U.S. and China, as well as financial, technological and cultural exchanges and cooperation, as well as the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

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