From anti-narcotics to US-China military contacts, Biden-Xi talks make headway
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Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer
| Beijing
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Wednesday to reestablish military-to-military contacts and reaffirmed an open phone line between the commanders in chief 鈥� vital steps toward reducing the risk of accidental conflict between the nuclear-armed superpowers.
On another key agenda item for the Biden administration, the leaders said they would cooperate to reduce the flow from China of precursor chemicals used to make the illegal drug fentanyl.
Beyond these specific outcomes, Messrs. Biden and Xi helped broadly establish a new footing for a relationship that has sunk into strife over the past five years, while setting out a vision for future cooperation. The two last met face-to-face in Indonesia a year ago.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onAt their first face-to-face meeting since last year, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden took several small steps forward on repairing U.S.-China relations. Perhaps the most important accomplishment was laying groundwork for future cooperation.
Mr. Biden described his four hours of talks with Mr. Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting as 鈥渟ome of the most constructive and productive discussions we鈥檝e had.鈥� Despite areas of disagreement, he said, 鈥渨e鈥檝e made some important progress.鈥�
Mr. Xi also highlighted headway in the relationship. 鈥淲e agreed to make the cooperation list longer and the pie of cooperation bigger,鈥� he said in a speech at a welcome dinner hosted by U.S.-China groups in San Francisco Wednesday night.
China鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs summarized the meeting as 鈥減ositive, comprehensive and constructive,鈥� adding that 鈥淪an Francisco should be a new starting point for stabilizing US-China relations.鈥�
A shared responsibility
Both leaders stressed that as stewards of the world鈥檚 most consequential bilateral relationship, they must 鈥� at a minimum 鈥� avoid conflict. Competition mustn鈥檛 鈥渧eer into conflict,鈥� Mr. Biden told Mr. Xi as their talks began. Mr. Xi agreed, saying 鈥渃onflict and confrontation will have unbearable consequences for both sides.鈥�
The two men also reiterated that direct communication, including face-to-face and by phone, is paramount to guarding against misunderstandings. Mr. Biden told reporters that he and Mr. Xi agreed that if either one has concerns, 鈥渨e should pick up the phone and then call one another, and we鈥檒l take the call.鈥�
Yet while reaching concrete agreements and voicing a shared intent, the leaders chose to frame U.S.-China relations in fundamentally different ways. Mr. Biden cast the relationship as one where competition and cooperation can both take place simultaneously, whereas Mr. Xi said their nations must choose between the two paths.
鈥淭he No. 1 question for us is: Are we adversaries or partners?鈥� Mr. Xi said in his dinner speech. China, he suggests, wants the latter. 鈥淚f one sees the other side as a primary competitor ... it will only lead to ... misguided actions and unwanted results,鈥� he said. 鈥淐hina is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States.鈥�
Mr. Xi鈥檚 framing in part reflects China鈥檚 political culture, says Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. 鈥淭he Chinese always want [first] to define the relationship 鈥� are you my friend or my enemy?鈥� she says, whereas the U.S. approach is more pragmatic and practical.
Moreover, Mr. Xi鈥檚 message is aimed in part at a broader global audience, before which Beijing wants to take the moral high ground of seeking to work together with Washington, says Ms. Sun. 鈥淴i Jinping is making an appeal that the U.S. and China should settle their differences ... because that will be more beneficial to the global community,鈥� she says.
Moments of meaningful progress
The modest but significant deals struck by Messrs. Xi and Biden focus on reducing risk and restoring key channels 鈥� with military contacts foremost among these.
The two sides agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communications, defense policy talks, and maritime consultations. They are also 鈥渞esuming telephone conversations between theater commanders,鈥� the White House said in a statement.
Calls between the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and China鈥檚 Eastern Theater Command could help defuse a crisis in the case of an accident between the U.S. and Chinese militaries, which both operate in the South China and East China seas and the Taiwan Strait, experts say. Yet the potential remains for an unintended run-in.
鈥淭hose mil-mil dialogues are important in avoiding unintentional conflicts or accidents ... but the Chinese and the U.S. strategy of flying planes close to one another hasn鈥檛 been addressed,鈥� says Dominic Chiu, senior analyst for China and Northeast Asia at Eurasia Group.
China鈥檚 agreement to cooperate with the United States on combating illegal drug manufacturing and trafficking, including the synthetic drug fentanyl, is likely to reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses to drug cartels, Mr. Biden said. The U.S. and China created a working group to coordinate law enforcement efforts on counternarcotics.
鈥淐hina sympathizes deeply with the American people, especially the young, for the sufferings that fentanyl has inflicted upon them,鈥� Mr. Xi said in his speech.
Additional agreements include governmental talks on addressing the risks of advanced artificial intelligence, as well as expanding people-to-people ties and direct flights between the two countries. For example, Mr. Xi pledged that China was ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to attend exchange and study programs in China over the next five years.
Managing disagreements
Both sides acknowledged that China and the U.S. have fundamental differences, including their approaches to Taiwan, a top priority issue for Beijing.
Mr. Xi asked Mr. Biden to stop arming Taiwan and to support China鈥檚 鈥減eaceful reunification鈥� with the democratic island, which China鈥檚 Communist Party-led government claims as part of its territory. In turn, Mr. Biden reiterated Washington鈥檚 support for the 鈥渙ne China鈥� policy, which recognizes Beijing鈥檚 stance. He also called on China to show restraint in its military activity around Taiwan, which has sharply increased in recent years.
Overall on Taiwan, and other areas of disagreement, 鈥渂oth leaders wanted to put their best foot forward without making any concessions,鈥� says Andrew Scobell, a distinguished fellow with the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Mr. Biden raised U.S. concerns over thorny issues such as China鈥檚 human rights violations and detention of U.S. citizens, as well as its 鈥渃oercive activities鈥� in the South China Sea. At Wednesday鈥檚 press conference, he said straight talk 鈥� 鈥渏ust being blunt with one another so there鈥檚 no misunderstanding鈥� 鈥� is useful.聽
Taking the long view, Mr. Xi told Mr. Biden at the onset of their meeting that the 鈥淐hina-U.S. relationship has never been smooth sailing. ... Yet, it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns. For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option.鈥�
