US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in person for the first time since the Democrat’s election on Monday (14) in Bali, Indonesia – before, they had only spoken to each other. by videoconferencing.
Although it is not yet known what was said behind closed doors, in the moments before the meeting, held in a luxury hotel on the paradise island, both leaders reinforced their commitment to maintain a direct line of communication between them, in an effort to ease the rising tensions between the two nations in recent months.
After a warm handshake – duly captured by the photographers present – Biden said that the two main global powers have a responsibility to show the world that they are capable of dealing with their own differences, preventing the competition between them from turning into a conflict. . He added that he looks forward to collaborating with the Asian nation to address pressing global issues such as climate change and food insecurity.
Xi, for his part, agreed that the relationship between the two countries was not living up to expectations and that its course needed to be corrected through joint work between the two rulers. “The world expects China and the US to handle this relationship in the right way,” he said.
The meeting, which brought those responsible for the two main global powers, antagonists of a kind of Cold War 2.0, face to face, served as a premiere of the G20 summit that starts this Tuesday (15) in Southeast Asia – but it may also have stolen the attentions of the meeting of the group of the main economies of the planet.
No substantive announcement was expected, even involving the war in Eastern Europe, but the mere fact that the meeting takes place generates tectonic movements, already anticipated by the mutual willingness to negotiate climate issues expressed at COP27, in Egypt — months after dialogues in this field had been suspended.
Interest in the event was boosted by the rise, in recent months, of diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Washington, which permeate different themes, equally burning.
In the Ukraine War, for example, Xi has shown himself to be an early ally of Russian Vladimir Putin, while Biden has led efforts to support Kiev — although he has been waving at the Kremlin, asking behind the scenes for Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the idea. of a negotiation.
The move comes amid Moscow’s announced withdrawal from the capital of the Kherson region, annexed by the Russians in southern Ukraine, in a retreat with which Putin has shown himself to be more flexible than is usually perceived; the setback does not represent a military defeat, but he foresaw the debacle, admitting that he could not win and leaving his real intentions open.
The US and China also oppose the crisis that haunts the Asian dictatorship, whose economy is growing at a slower pace than it was years ago, at a rate between 3% and 4% this year. There are doubts about the solvency of the real estate market and issues related to the production chain due to the Covid zero policy, but in the background Washington has declared a real war by establishing draconian restrictions on the sale of chips.
The semiconductor market is centered on the island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rebel province — the regime is in full military preparation for the possibility of a takeover, while the US increasingly raises the tone of protection of the democratic system in Taipei.
The context also saw an escalation of tensions in August, with the untimely visit of the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to the island.
Xi has just been elevated to an unprecedented level of power in China, with his third term at the head of the communist dictatorship. But he needs the US, given its economic interdependence with the West, and vice versa. On the other hand, the fear of falling victim to a sanctions regime like the one that befell Putin is present, although it seems more likely that Beijing will double down on any bets.
Biden, on the other hand, is somewhat empowered for not having been torn apart in the midterm elections in the US – he celebrated this Sunday (13) the maintenance of the majority in the Senate and has already hinted at his candidacy for reelection, which keeps him in attendance. foreign policy “hawk”.
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