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The United States and China have agreed to more “responsibly” manage their increasingly fraught relationship A meeting between President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, in their First face-to-face meeting since Mr. Biden became US PresidentAhead of the G20 summit on November 14, 2022 in Bali, they appeared to agree that a deterioration in relations, especially in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, does not suit either side. The biggest takeaway is an agreement that “competition must not turn into conflict” and that the two, as the White House said in a statement, “manage competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication”. Mr Xi echoed that sentiment by saying “relationships should not be a zero-sum game where one side competes or flourishes at the expense of the other”. To that end, the two sides have reopened talks that had stalled since Ms. Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, starting with working together on climate change, a key challenge that can be tackled without two of the world’s biggest polluters. cannot be addressed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will now visit China, while other suspended joint working groups are likely to resume, including on global economic stability, debt relief, food security and health security.
While reestablishing contact is certainly important, it is, however, only a first and temporary step toward stabilizing a flailing relationship; No significant difference has been removed. On trade, Mr. Xi noted China’s opposition to “starting a trade war or a technology war, to build walls and barriers, to isolate and isolate supply chains,” which is aimed at Washington on chips. The latest shows Beijing’s displeasure over U.S. export controls, which have faced a hammering. a blow to its semiconductor ambitions. Human rights are another sticking point. Mr. Biden “raised concerns” about Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, while Mr. Xi retorted that “no country has a full democratic system” and that “like the United States has an American-style democracy, China Chinese style democracy”. However, the biggest factor remains the Taiwan question. While Mr. Biden assured Mr. Xi that there was no change in the “one China policy”, the view in Beijing is that the US is slowly “hollowing out” its Taiwan commitments. Should Ms Pelosi’s potential successor, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, go ahead with his previously announced plan to visit Taiwan, relations could again be in jeopardy. While a softening of ties between the world’s two biggest powers will be welcomed in most Asian capitals wary of the Cold War, the respite may yet be brief.