Chinese President Xi Jinping came to San Francisco on November 14th to attend a bilateral heads of state meeting at the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden. This was their first meeting since the bilateral heads of state meeting on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022. Currently, U.S.-China relations are deteriorating. The United States continues to increase trade and technology sanctions against China, decoupling but in the name of non-decoupling (the Bali talks seem to be just empty words). After experiencing numerous ineffective negotiations, China has made the painful decision of shutting up and not making compromises. In recent years, the world has been wreaked havoc by the COVID-19 pandemic, then the Russia-Ukraine war, and last month, Israel and Palestine clashed again, causing endless war and atrocious bombings. Regardless of whether these are within the strategic expectations of the United States, its response capabilities are clearly being stretched. With the U.S. presidential election approaching next year, Biden must ease the tension with China and even seek help from China in resolving international conflicts. Therefore, Biden’s Administration wanted to resume dialogue with China to change appearances, restart high-level military talks, and resolve differences on commercial and economic matters. After many visits to China by the U.S. diplomatic, financial, and trade chiefs and the governor of California, it has finally become certain that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s reciprocal visit to Washington has resulted in a possible ‘negotiated’ Xi-Biden Summit. The world has high expectations for Xi’s visit, but no one can predict its actual results or score. This article will make some analysis and comments based on the news and official reports released post Xi’s visit, focusing on the results and consequences as well as what impact will it have on U.S.-China relations and the international situation.
The focus of Xi's visit is different on two sides. The United States had to put the brakes on 'targeting China' amid changes in the world arena (wars and economy) and pressure from the domestic economy, political situation, and the coming presidential election. Biden lowered his voice and wanted to cool down the China tension. After the meeting at Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, Biden achieved his goal. The United States got both sides to agree to resume high-level military talks and created a semblance of de-escalation. It also got China's promise to help solve the epidemic of Botanic (Fentanyl) drugs in the United States, which killed 73,654 people in 2022. During his participation in the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, Xi will meet with the President of Mexico (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) and they will discuss the issue of regulating the use of pharmaceutical components manufactured from China to produce drugs to export to the United States. In addition, Xi also talked about cooperation in intelligence activities and climate change control. These are the gains of the United States from this Sino-US summit. In contrast, Xi Jinping did not get many concrete answers to the crucial issues that he values. For example, on the Taiwan issue, Biden only reiterated that he abides by the one-China principle and did not say that he opposed Taiwan's independence and would not sell arms to Taiwan, meaningful remarks for maintaining cross-strait peace. Some small gains that have substantive value are: The United States promises to increase direct flights to China and streamline the visas process. China has its reasons to agree to show the appearance of tension easing in US-China relations as desired by the United States. On the one hand, China knows that the Biden Administration will not immediately change its basic policy of 'targeting China' under the pressure of public opinion, Congress, and the 2024 election. On the other hand, China realizes that the improvement of Sino-US relations lies with the American people. Therefore, during Xi’s participation in this Sino-US summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, he agreed to attend a large-scale dinner with American business, financial, and investment people and give a speech. This is a big event next to the U.S. Congress' speech invitation if extended to him. We can analyze the results of Xi’s visit to the United States from his speech and its media reaction.
At US$2,000 per seat and US$40,000 per table (eight seats plus one seat at the head table with President Xi), nearly 400 well-known Americans attended the dinner hosted by the National Committee on China-US Relations and other groups in Xi's honor. Xi's speech is of course the main theme. From his speech released, we can see that he is more sincere (than Biden) in promoting friendly relations between China and the United States. There was no political slogan in his speech. He just said that good relations between China and the United States are good for both countries and the world. Making Sino-US relations better depends on the people of both sides. He talked about the history of China and the United States a little. The development to today of $760 billion in bilateral trade, $260+ billion in mutual investment, 284 friendly relations with sister provinces, states, counties, and cities, and 300+ flights with more than 5 million people visiting every year is something worth cherishing. He particularly emphasized that Sino-US relations are a relationship between the people. He made four points: 1. The ‘foundation’ of Sino-US relations is nurtured by the people, 2. The ‘door’ is opened by the people (Ping Pong Tour), 3. The ‘story’ is told and written by the people (the personal story of his visit to Iowa resulted in lasting friends he made), 4. The ‘future’ is created by the people (the more difficult it is, the more it depends on communication between people's hearts). Xi understands that the two countries have different systems, but each is the choice of the people (not to be altered by another regime.) The people should respect each other and achieve peaceful, cooperative, and stable development. China has found its development path and has understood the difficulties and advantages of a large population. China wants to enable all people to live a good life, it will continue to develop in an all-round way, attach equal importance to material and mental quality of life, and work together with all mankind as a community. This speech shows that President Xi has a far-sighted vision and a broad mind. He is planning for common interests and common development for China, the United States, and the world. He has good intentions and hopes that the people of China and the United States can cooperate to create a prosperous future. This speech is more fruitful and far-reaching than the summit dialog revealed. The author expects that U.S. businessmen will invest more in China, and Xi's invitation to 50,000 young Americans to visit China will not only be a goodwill but also will produce good results.
Xi’s brief visit is over. The above comments are deduced from the limited information available at present. The impact of Xi's presence in the 30th APEC and China's effort in the UN to pass a resolution to force a cease-fire in the Israel-Palestine war will be discussed separately. We should pay close attention to see how U.S.-China relations will evolve in the future. The author hopes that every citizen will do his or her part to watch the governments and the world situation, to stop wars, and to seek peace, cooperation, and win-win results!
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