China's Prez Jinping expected to invite Joe Biden to 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Report

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to invite US President Joe Biden to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics during the virtual summit between the two nations, CNBC reported. While citing two people familiar with the matter, the media outlet reported that Jinping is expected to use the discussion, expected on 15 November, to extend a personal invitation to Biden to attend the events in Beijing in February. 

For now, the White House and the National Security Council have declined to comment on how Biden would respond to such an invitation. However, it is to mention that if the US President declines the invitation, it might put the already tense Washington-Beijing relationship on ice. But if he were to accept it, he may contradict his own administration’s messaging on democracy and human rights as there has been growing calls to boycott the Beijing Winter Games over China’s human rights violations, including against the Uyghur Muslims. 

Earlier, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House principal deputy press secretary, said that the staff were working out details of the upcoming summit, which was focused on managing the countries’ competition, not on “deliverables”. Jean-Pierre informed that the meeting will be part of the discussions about "responsible management" of competition between the two major economies of the world. The two leaders will be holding a bilateral virtual summit on Monday,15 November, Politico reported.

Soaring tensions between China & US

It is to mention that the US and China have remained geopolitical rivals for decades and relations between them have further frayed due to Beijing's aggressive claims of sovereignty along the South China Sea fuelled by Chinese engagement in testing high-tech projectiles. In response, Biden has staked out a broader foreign policy strategy toward China that involves managing and succeeding in competition with Beijing but avoiding conflict. At times, the US President has also firmly condemned China over human rights abuses and other practices. 

However, this has only complicated his administration’s climate efforts as disputes over commitments to tackle climate change are the latest flashpoint in tensions between US and China. Biden has rebuked China, saying that Jinping’s decision to skip the UN climate summit was a “big mistake”. China, on the other hand, hit back at America over the criticism. 

(Image: AP)