The current leaders of the two world powers will meet this November 15 in San Francisco within the framework of the Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be Xi Jinping’s first visit to the US region since 2017. The aim will be to normalize relations with Beijing, but Taiwan is likely to be at loggerheads between the two, experts say.
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“There are thousands of reasons to improve relations between the United States and China, but not a single one to worsen them,” Xi Jinping’s words last October, encouraging the diplomatic way to guide the meeting between the leaders. They are two of the most important economies on the planet and they have a clear objective: to reduce risk in their relationships.
Despite the many public disagreements the two leaders have faced each other in the past, the mood on the road to the APEC summit seems very positive. Before heading to San Francisco, Joe Biden urged the two countries to “return to normalcy” in their relations, as well as to develop channels of communication between Washington and Beijing, both political and military.
“We are not trying to separate ourselves from China, but to change good relations (…) to be able to pick up the phone and talk to each other in case of a crisis,” said a local White House tenant. Press.
The relationship between the two governments, which makes everyone nervous, is not a close alliance, however, both representatives understand that their responsibility as world powers is to be together to face the major challenges affecting the world, in which both are protagonists.
Taiwan, a point of friction
Since Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1979, Washington has half-heartedly and distantly respected the ‘One China’ policy imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regarding Taiwan and its political situation. However, the United States has reaffirmed its commitment to Taipei’s security, which has greatly compromised its bilateral relationship with the Asian giant, along with the brutal economic and military growth China has experienced since the last decade.
In May 2022, Joe Biden himself suggested that his government would be prepared to intervene “militarily” to protect Taiwan’s democratic government in the event of a wartime attack from Beijing on Taipei. The president’s statements, though later pacified by a White House panel, created diplomatic friction with China and called into question Washington’s respect for the ‘one China’ policy.
“Contrary to the White House’s assertions, I believe this reflects a shift away from a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ toward Taiwan,” said Meredith Owen, an expert on inter-Taiwan relations, AP. told United. States and Taiwan at the University of Maryland.
Despite the above, the two leaders face their next meeting with the next Taiwanese elections in 2024, with the Chinese delegation warning the American to refrain from any electoral interference that could benefit the Freedom Party in Taipei. Efforts to calm military threats from both sides.
While Taiwan is the main dish, other conflicts are also on the table. The conflict inside Ukraine has spilled over into other countries in the region, with US efforts to further distance China from Russia, and between Israel and Hamas to convince Beijing to go to Iran to stop violence involving Palestinian civilians.
More competition, less contention
The divisions between the two superpowers are military and geopolitical, but their main encounters are related to their economic and technological interests, which, though in constant competition, are interdependent and have many common points.
Some expert voices are already warning that while the meeting may not be the starting point for building a closer relationship between the two countries, it could be useful in diverting the course of healthy competition between Washington and Beijing. According to the new reality, even if they compete, the world needs them to coexist peacefully.
“We are continuing in a prolonged period of competition and tension (…) there will be no major breakthroughs, no real fundamental change,” said Richard Fontaine of the Center for a New American Security in Washington.
In a meeting that will have all eyes on the world, two of the world’s most powerful nations, with opposing values ​​and divergent interests, will try to bridge their differences to ensure the future of their peoples. Of all that is on the face of the world, from the earth.
With Reuters and AP
