President Biden, Xi to Meet for Bilateral Talks on Nov 16

Washington: Outgoing US President Joe Biden will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Peru on Saturday on the sidelines of an international summit, during which the two leaders expect to review the bilateral relations, the White House said Wednesday.

"We expect the president will use the opportunity to take stock of efforts to responsibly manage competition over the last four years, how the two countries have advanced areas of shared interest, and, even amidst deep differences and intense competition, have worked to do so," a senior administration official said.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on November 16 at Lima, the capital of Peru, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. The meeting would come just over two months before Donald Trump's return to the White House.

This will be their third in-person meeting since Biden entered office. They previously met in Bali, in 2022, on the margins of the G20, and at Woodside, California in 2023, on the margins of APEC.

The two presidents have known each other for more than a decade, dating back to when they were both vice presidents, and have spent many hours in meetings together.

"We expect this will be their last meeting as presidents," said the official.

Throughout his time in office, Biden has emphasised the importance of responsibly managing one of the world's most consequential relationships.

"From the very beginning of this administration, four years ago, President Biden made it clear the United States would advance and protect our interests at home and abroad. And the framework of this administration's China policy -- invest, align, and compete -- has remained constant over the last four years," said the official.

Biden has prioritised investments and sources of US strength at home, strengthened alliances abroad, and taken several measures to protect US technology and national security, the official said.

"At the same time, the president has demonstrated that our two countries can and must manage our differences and prevent competition from veering into conflict or confrontation by maintaining open lines of communication and advancing cooperation in areas of shared interest," the official added.

During the Saturday meeting with Xi, Biden will want to take stock of the progress the two countries have made in a number of areas since the Woodside Summit last year. Such cooperation can be an important stabilising force in the relationship, the official said.

"For example, over the last year, the two sides have resumed military-to-military communications at all levels. At the senior level, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown, Secretary of Defense Austin, and the INDOPACOM commander have met or had telephone calls with their PRC counterparts over the last year,” said the official.

Noting that the US and China also restarted the Defense Policy Coordination Talks in January, 2024 and have carried out agreed-upon defense engagements since, to include the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, MMCA, the official said these discussions are important to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.

"For the first time this year, I should add as well, both sides pre-notified their respective ICBM launches. Biden has made clear and will continue to emphasise the importance of maintaining military-to-military communications at all times and especially during times of heightened tension,” said the official.

In addition to discussing issues related to AI and climate change, President Biden will warn that cyber pre-positioning on civilian critical infrastructure and engaging in reckless attacks against critical networks of the US are "unacceptable", the official said, adding that such actions could destabilise the current bilateral relationship and lead to an even broader de-risking away from PRC (People's Republic of China) technology.

"I expect the President will also underscore the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and express his concerns that the PRC’s increased military activities around Taiwan are destabilising and eroding the status quo," the official said.

Biden is also likely to express concern over Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including China coast guard actions against lawful maritime operations by other South China Sea claimant countries. "And of course, the President will also underscore his longstanding concern with the PRC's unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices, which have over time created an unlevel playing field for American workers,” said the official. 

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