Advertisement
Xi-Biden talks clear ‘low bar for success’ but bigger hurdles loom for US-China relations
- Both sides came away from the summit in California with some gains, but observers warned that neither side will budge on key issues
- One analyst warned that ‘both countries are much closer to a real crisis than many people think’
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
34
The Xi Jinping-Joe Biden summit in California cleared the “low bar for success”, but the two countries are unlikely to budge on many disputes in future, according to diplomatic observers.
Advertisement
Despite low expectations, both Washington and Beijing claimed that the “candid, constructive” talks on Wednesday had seen them make headway on a number of key issues.
In their first face-to-face talks for a year, the two leaders agreed to establish a working group on fentanyl, resume military-to-military communications and cooperate on addressing the risks of artificial intelligence.
They will also start talks on renewing the US-China science and technology cooperation agreement which expires in February, increasing the number of direct flights between the two countries early next year and enhancing exchanges between the two societies.
The meeting also offered a setting for Xi to underscore Beijing’s concerns about Taiwan – with the presidential election on the island only two months away – by urging Washington to stop “arming” Taiwan and translate its pledge not to support the island’s independence into “concrete actions”.
Advertisement
The Chinese leader also had the opportunity to tell his American counterpart that “China has no plans to overtake or replace the US”.
Advertisement