US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on November 15 in California, marking their first face-to-face meeting in a year. The meeting, taking place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, is expected to cover a broad range of global issues.
Among the topics on the agenda are the Israel-Hamas war, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's ties with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl, artificial intelligence, and trade and economic relations. The leaders are also expected to discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and how they can manage competition and work together on transnational challenges.
US officials believe Beijing has been actively working to undermine US policy around the world. Biden is also expected to discuss China's influence on North Korea and Iran. The meeting comes amid strained US-China relations due to issues such as US export controls on advanced technology.
In addition to the presidential meeting, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also met in San Francisco, continuing a series of senior-level engagements between the two countries. Differences between the two sides have sharpened over the past year, with issues such as a suspected Chinese spy balloon being shot down by the US, a stopover in the US by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and disputes in areas such as trade and technology.
The meeting is seen as a significant step in US-China relations under the Biden administration, which has seen escalating trade tensions, sanctions on Chinese technology companies, and the potential for a change in course under Biden. The Chinese market's importance for US agricultural products and the potential for improving US-China relations and trade ties are also highlighted.