US President Joe Biden discussed on Friday the possibility of holding a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during the APEC summit, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, expected in mid-November in San Francisco.
Biden said in a press conference at the White House that such a meeting hasn’t been organized, but it is a possibility, after US media reported that the two presidents intend to hold a meeting to calm tensions between Beijing and Washington.
In recent months, Beijing and Washington have resumed dialogue with a series of visits to Beijing by senior US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
But bilateral relations remain tense, as trade disputes, Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, and the issue of the self-governed democratic island of Taiwan are all thorny issues between the two parties.
In August, Biden announced that he still intends to meet with President Xi during the APEC summit, and Beijing hasn’t confirmed Xi’s participation in this summit.
“I intend and hope this fall to continue the conversations we had in Bali,” Biden said.
Biden added, “This is what I intend to do,” referring to a meeting with Xi Jinping in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, during the G20 summit.
“China is a time bomb in many ways,” he said earlier that month, pointing to unemployment and an aging workforce.
The US President added at the time that these difficulties raise concern because “when bad people have problems, they do bad things”.
He also stressed that he seeks a “rational relationship with China,” adding, “I don’t wish China any harm, but I am watching”.
In June, Joe Biden angered Beijing by saying that Xi Jinping belonged to the category of dictator, a comment that Chinese diplomacy viewed as a provocation.
