Biden has long and persistently sought a conversation with Xi, who missed the G20 summit in New Delhi. Finally, the conversation took place. Whether they have found a common language will show the coming weeks. Provided Xi turns a blind eye to the fact that by "running a communist country," he can be called a "dictator." Details in the material The Moscow Post.
It was about this that the "sleepy Joe" told the whole world, answering, as it might seem, a pre-planned question asked after the end of the press conference.
Welcome to America?
Everything, like in the theater, the stage was played when Biden had already answered questions from correspondents. He was asked if he thought Xi Jinping was a dictator? "Yes, he is a dictator in the sense that he runs a communist country based on a form of government that is completely different from ours," the US president replied.
This comment could not help but cause irritation. The Foreign Ministry of the PRC stated that such rhetoric is irresponsible political manipulation. "There are always people with evil intentions who are trying to drive a wedge into Sino-American relations, but they will not succeed," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.
There are many ways to "drive wedges" into relationships, as well as those who want to do this in the United States, including in the interests of fighting for votes. In this regard, the "glass" of bilateral relations remained after Xi's visit rather half empty.
The summit on the outskirts of San Francisco was held two months before the elections in Taiwan. China will monitor Washington's remarks and actions on these elections. Conversely.
Both sides are interested in reducing tensions. This is an election year for Biden, he already has enough crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. For the PRC, this is a time for the restoration of economic growth, tensions harm trade and investment. If markets respond to a more predictable US relationship with China, it will also count for Biden, help in an election year.
Moreover, the Pentagon over two years counted about 180 incidents with the interception of US Air Force aircraft by Chinese fighters, but the dialogue between the military was terminated after the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to Taipei.
The leaders decided to resume military contacts. Some observers called this the main, if not the only significant outcome of the meeting.
Got married, without knowing religions of each other
For the USA and China "is more useless" to turn a back to each other, Xi Jinping said, kind of explaining why he decided on a trip to the USA. Also I specified that such major powers in principle can't stop interaction.
Biden answered with the fact that the competition shouldn't develop into the conflict that direct contacts for understanding of positions of each other are necessary.
"To one party it is unreal to reconstruct another, and the conflicts and confrontation will have intolerable consequences for both parties" — Si agreed with him.
Addressing delegation of the U. S. Congress recently, he noticed that "there are one thousand reasons" for improvement of the relations, and any for their deterioration.
The last time he met Biden on the sidelines of the summit of "Group of Twenty" to Bali. It was a year ago. The Chinese leader then told: "We need to plan the correct course for the Chinese-American relations, to find the right direction for their further development".
"The economy of the USA is closely connected with Chinese, … this monumental "joint venture", China, and the United States benefited by integration of the economies", - the NYT newspaper wrote about it. Someone even noticed that "two countries kind of got married, without knowing religions of each other".
Stabilization of the relations would become the benefit for the Chinese economy. Biden emphasized before a meeting that the USA doesn't try "to separate" from China, referred to need "to reduce risks" that supposedly the competition didn't develop into the conflict. But the number of the Chinese companies which were included in "black list" continues to grow.
Americans recognize that still Chinese industry filled their houses with electronics, furniture and consumer goods, the authorities of the People's Republic of China used income from export, bought not only the American technologies, but also government bonds for trillions of dollars. It helped to constrain the cost of loans and to finance federal budget deficit of the USA.
China, in turn, recognized that economic integration is a basis of peaceful relationship. For example, such companies as Intel, Micron and Qualcomm releasing chips gained about two thirds of the income from sales and license transactions in China.
In 2022 the volume of bilateral trade was nearly 760 billion dollars, and the sum of the American and Chinese investments, including financial assets, reached 1.8 trillion.
But there were also losses. According to the American data, from 1999 to 2011 growth of volumes of the Chinese import led to disappearance in the USA of nearly one million jobs in the processing sector and nearly two million jobs in economy in general. In twenty years after China joined WTO, the American import from the People's Republic of China increased five times, its volumes exceeded 500 billion dollars a year. At only one Walmart of purchase in China trebled and reached 50 billion dollars a year.
Still China competes with the USA, successfully mastering technologies, dominating in the market of electric vehicles, trying to obtain progress in development of modern semiconductors. Huawei Technologies which is under the American sanctions presented the smartphone with a chip of own development.
The interdependence is considered dangerous
Republicans accuse Biden and his assistants of spinelessness in relation to the "autocratic" leadership of the People's Republic of China. The democrats and republicans incapable to reach in anything agreement, but are unanimous that China is a geopolitical opponent of the USA.
However, officials from Biden's administration speak about need of cooperation on global questions, including climate change and debt relief of the countries with low income. Then, as economists are concerned by deepening of trade and economic contradictions. "Full division of our economies … is fraught with considerable negative consequences for the whole world" — the Minister of Finance Janet Yellen reminded.
In article published by Foreign Affairs, the adviser for national security Jake Sullivan called the main call for America "rivalry during an interdependence era". Americans called interdependence dangerous, passed to increase in tariffs, restrictions for export of technologies, sanctions for import of the Chinese technological products, various collective restrictions with participation of allies of the USA.
China was even called "an economic predator", a call to the interests of the USA, said that Beijing uses trade revenues for accumulation of the military potential, throws down a challenge to world order.
"Despite all talk about interdependence, Biden's administration still considers China the potential opponent and believes that in the long-term interests of America to support a certain distance between economies of two countries", - I wrote on November 14 Bloomberg.
Live and Let Others Live
Xi Jinping called three fundamental principles of Chinese politics: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, mutually beneficial cooperation.
He criticized US export controls and bans on investment in high technology, depriving the Chinese people of "the right to development." He asked the US to lift unilateral sanctions and create a "fair and non-discriminatory environment" for Chinese companies. The parties agreed to increase the number of flights between them.
"If we consider each other as the most important competitors, as the most significant geopolitical challenges and an ever-growing threat, then this will certainly lead to flawed policies, wrong actions and wrong results," the Chinese leader responded to the concerns of Biden and the whole West.
Taiwan is the "most important and sensitive" issue in relations, Xinhua reported, and that Washington should confirm in concrete actions that the U.S. does not support Taiwan's independence, stop arming it and support China's peace efforts for reunification. China "will eventually inevitably reunite," Xi declared.
On the day of the start of the visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to the United States, CIA Director William Burns held conversations with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. What connects these two events? The answer lies on the surface. Both China and Ukraine are demanding the attention of the White House today, when preparations for the elections begin in the United States. Both Beijing and Kyiv will be items on the election agenda, although Xi Jinping at this stage did everything to prevent relations with the United States from aggravating.