Biden, Xi plan tense final meeting in Peru as Trump era draws to a close Reuters
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw
LIMA (Reuters) – Joe Biden meets Chinese President Xi Jinping for the last time as US president on Saturday, but the leaders’ aim to ease tensions ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration is being challenged by new disputes over cybercrime, trade, Taiwan and Russia.
Biden and Xi will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru — their first talks in seven months — where Pacific Rim leaders will assess the implications of Trump’s return to power as US president on Jan. 20. The time of their meeting has not been disclosed.
Washington has been angered by recent China-linked hacking of US government and presidential campaign officials’ communications, and is concerned about Beijing’s increasing pressure on Taiwan and Chinese support for Russia.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te plans to stop in the US state of Hawaii and possibly Guam in a high-profile trip that will anger Beijing in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Friday. China considers democratic Taiwan as its territory. The US is Taiwan’s most important international sponsor and arms supplier, despite the lack of official diplomatic recognition.
At the same time, Beijing’s economy is reacting strongly to Biden’s measures on trade, including a plan to limit US investment in Chinese artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors and export restrictions on high-end computers. All those topics are expected to come up in the talks, US officials said.
China has often denied allegations of US hacking, viewing Taiwan as an internal matter and contradicting US statements about Sino-Russian trade. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
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Trump has vowed to accept a 60% tariff on Chinese goods exports to the US as part of his “America First” trade measures. Beijing opposes those measures. The Republican president-elect also plans to hire several China hawks to top roles, including US Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
On Wednesday, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, described the change as “a time when competitors and opponents can see a potential opportunity.” Biden will emphasize with Xi “the need to maintain stability, clarity, predictability in this transition between the United States and China.”
Shen Dingli, an international relations expert based in Shanghai, said China wants the meeting to reduce tensions during the transition period. “China definitely does not want relations with the United States to become chaotic before Trump officially takes office,” Shen said.
The summit in South America provides new signs of challenges to the power of the United States in its own backyard, where China is busy.
Xi, who arrived in Lima on Thursday, is planning a week-long summit on Latin America that includes a free trade agreement with Peru, launching the mega port of Chancay there and being welcomed to the Brazilian capital next week for a state visit. visit.
China wants Latin American steel, soybeans, and other goods, but US officials are concerned that it may be looking for new areas close to the US and for intelligence. China’s state-backed media called the allegations an insult.
The US official said Washington’s commitment to the region is strong and that China’s overseas infrastructure investment has slowed in recent years due to domestic challenges and project problems.
But Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said Xi would meet with a positive reception in the region.
“Biden’s trip will clearly overshadow all the things Xi Jinping will face when he visits APEC,” he said. “When Xi meets with Biden part of his audience is not – it’s not just the White House or the US government. It’s about American CEOs and continuing US investment or trying to revive US investment in China and removing the perception that there is hostility . the place of business in China.”
