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| ▲ U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a bilateral meeting at Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15, 2023 in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Biden-Xi summit
(LEAD) Biden, Xi hold summit in California amid hopes for improved ties
(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with start of summit; CHANGES photo)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a high-stakes summit in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, amid expectations that it will help improve bilateral ties between the two superpowers.
Their first in-person meeting in about a year took place at Filoli estate in Woodside south of San Francisco, where South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and other world leaders will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this week.
The summit came as the Biden administration has been striving to restore normal bilateral military communication channels, which were suspended after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August last year, in tune with its drive to "de-risk" the Sino-U.S. relationship.
The relationship between Washington and Beijing has been on a bumpy road amid the two countries' intensifying strategic competition over maritime security, trade, technological leadership, the imposition of sanctions and other geopolitical issues.
In his opening remarks, Biden stressed there is "no substitute" for face-to-face discussions.
"I value our conversation because I think it's paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader with no misconceptions or miscommunication," he said. "We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict and we also have to manage it responsibly."
Calling U.S.- China ties the "most important bilateral relationship in the world," Xi highlighted the need to develop it in a way that "benefits for our two peoples and fulfills our responsibility for human progress."
"For two large countries like China and the U.S., turning their back on each other is not an option," he said through an interpreter. "It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other and conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides.
He added, "I am still of the view that Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed and one country's success is an opportunity for the other."
At Wednesday's summit, the leaders were expected to discuss a "whole range" of issues, including bilateral relations, North Korean threats, Taiwan, the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, and Russia's protracted war in Ukraine, according to Biden's aides.
In particular, they could explore ways to cooperate in preventing the Israel-Hamas war from escalating into a wider regional conflict, observers said, as Washington has hoped Beijing would use its ties with Iran to help defuse tensions in the Middle East.
On Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that China regards as part of its territory, the U.S. side is expected to reaffirm its One-China policy and its focus on maintaining the "status quo" and ensuring peace and stability, according to Biden aides.
The meeting between Biden and Xi was their second in-person talks following their last summit during the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November. It will also mark their seventh interaction since Biden took office in January 2021.
Meanwhile, the APEC summit is set to bring together representatives from 21 APEC member economies under the theme of creating a "resilient" and "sustainable" future for all. Participants include South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Formed in 1989, APEC, a group of Pacific Rim countries, represents 40 percent of the world's population, nearly half of global trade and over 60 percent of the global economy. The U.S. last hosted the APEC summit in Honolulu in 2011.
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