U.S., China agree to work toward an expected Biden-Xi summit
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[October 28, 2023]
By Humeyra Pamuk and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. and China have agreed to work together
toward an expected summit between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping
next month, U.S. officials said on Friday, following hours of meetings
between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and senior U.S. diplomats in
Washington.
In the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Washington since
2018, veteran diplomat Wang Yi also met Biden for an hour, talks that
the White House described as a "good opportunity" in keeping lines of
communication open between the two geopolitical rivals with deep policy
differences.
Wang's meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S.
national security advisor Jake Sullivan spanning over two days totaled
nine hours, U.S. officials said, describing these interactions as
"candid and in-depth".
Biden's top aides raised Washington's key concerns: the need to restore
military-to-military channels between the two countries, Beijing's
actions in the East and South China Sea, Taiwan, human rights, the flow
of fentanyl precursors and the cases of Americans detained in China,
U.S. officials said.
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There were also "frank exchanges" between Blinken and Wang over the
erupting conflict in the Middle East.
The key area that appeared to show some positive momentum was toward an
expected meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next month in San
Francisco.
"We are making preparations for such a meeting," said one of the senior
administration officials briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
"Obviously, Chinese leaders often confirm publicly much closer to a
trip, so I will leave it to the Chinese side to figure out if and when
they make that announcement," the official said.
Wang told Biden that the objective of his visit was to help "stem the
decline" in U.S.-China ties "with an eye on San Francisco", without
giving any details, according to a brief statement from the Chinese
foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry readouts for Wang's meetings with Blinken and
Sullivan said that "both sides agreed to work together to achieve a
meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco."
"China attaches importance to the U.S. side's hopes of stabilizing and
improving U.S. ties with China," Wang was quoted as saying in his
meeting with Biden.
The Biden administration has seen direct leader-level engagement with Xi
as particularly important in managing tensions as it seeks to prevent
relations from veering into conflict.
"A big part of a potential meeting would be the two leaders sitting down
together and having those conversations on strategic intent," the U.S.
official said.
On Thursday, Wang told Blinken that the two countries have disagreements
and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce
misunderstandings and stabilize ties. "Not only should we resume
dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said.
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![](../images/102823PIX/news_p91.jpg)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi looks on, during his meeting with
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured), at the State
Department in Washington, U.S., October 27, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth
Frantz
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/28/images/ads/current/fcs_funeral_lda_border_04029022.png)
Wang's three-day visit follows a flurry of bilateral diplomatic
engagements in recent months, largely at U.S. request, aimed at
salvaging what were rapidly deteriorating ties early in the year
following the U.S. downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
But some in Washington have questioned whether a slate of mostly
unreciprocated U.S. cabinet-level official visits to Beijing over
the past six months, including by Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet
Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, played into Beijing's
hand.
The trips by Yellen and Raimondo led to new bilateral economic and
commercial working groups, which critics worry will only pull U.S.
focus away from - and possibly delay - sanctions, export controls
and broader measures intended to enhance U.S. competition with
China.
U.S. officials have maintained that increased diplomacy does not
mean a let up in policy.
CONCERN OVER MIDDLE EAST
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy
relationship between the superpowers, and Washington is hoping
Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation
into a wider war in the Middle East.
U.S. officials said the issue came up frequently during Wang's
meetings but it was unclear whether Washington was able to get
Beijing on board to commit to using its influence to help contain
the conflict.
"We expressed our deep concern with the situation and pressed China
to take a more constructive approach, and that would include, of
course, their engagements with the Iranians, to urge calm," another
of the senior administration officials said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/28/images/ads/current/brandt_sda_FFARM_2023.png)
China has condemned violence and attacks on civilians in the
conflict, and while Wang has declared Israel's actions "beyond the
scope of self-defense" he has not named Hamas in his comments.
The second official said Blinken raised U.S. concerns about China’s
recent actions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea,
including its “dangerous and unlawful obstruction” of the Philippine
resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea and
its unsafe intercept of a U.S. aircraft.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Michael Martina and Steve Holland;
editing by Jonathan Oatis, Shri Navaratnam and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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