As I see it | High-stakes overseas trips could be a smart move for Xi Jinping
- Chinese leader may travel to San Francisco for the Apec summit and to Dubai for the UN climate talks
- Beijing has not confirmed the trips but anticipation is building amid signs tensions are easing with Washington
First to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November, where he could meet US President Joe Biden after they last met nearly a year ago in Bali. Xi could also attend the COP28 United Nations climate talks in Dubai at the end of November amid calls for China to play a leadership role on the issue.
Neither trip has been confirmed by Beijing as yet. But there has been much discussion about the significance of a San Francisco visit, with comparisons to former leader Jiang Zemin’s 1993 trip to the first Apec summit in Seattle that marked a turning point for bilateral ties in the post-Tiananmen era.
Rumours have also been swirling about whether Xi will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the opening of COP28, potentially another smart move both for the climate and geopolitics. Xi attended the 2015 UN climate talks in France where the historic Paris Agreement was reached.
Last month, however, a UN report assessing progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement said the world was way off-track amid an increasingly toxic superpower rivalry and the impasse over climate finance.
Many are pessimistic about COP28 – pointing to the lack of progress to limit rising temperatures – and have warned that its success will largely depend on whether Beijing and Washington can cooperate.
Biden effectively said as much last month during a speech at the UN General Assembly, when he stressed the need to “work together with China on issues where progress hinges on our common efforts”.
