Chinese state media optimistic Xi ​​will get what he wants from Biden during the upcoming meeting

Chinese state media expressed cautious optimism that General Secretary Xi Jinping will gain the upper hand during talks with President Joe Biden this week.

“Chinese experts” he said Global Times that Xi may call for so-called “people-to-people exchanges,” raise “the Taiwan issue” and push Biden on a host of other issues near and dear to Beijing during their scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the economic d ‘Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco on 15 November.

APEC is one intergovernmental whose economic and commercial forum mission is “championing free and open trade and investment” for the sake of “sustainable economic growth and prosperity” in the Asia-Pacific, according to its website.

The Global Times reported that analysts are “cautiously optimistic about the Xi-Biden meeting serving to stabilize bilateral ties ahead of the 2024 US election.”

“Chinese experts told the Global Times that the Taiwan issue will be one of the issues of concern for the Chinese side, and that China hopes to improve communication and coordination, helping the US side to have a vision and judgment further goals of US-China relations.”, the state media reported.

Beijing rejects Taiwan’s sovereignty and the People’s Liberation Army often threatens “reunification by force”, stating that Taiwan is governed by “separatists,” Global Times has reported in the past.

Experts also told the Global Times that Xi may call for an increase in people-to-people exchanges by “increasing more flights and encouraging exchange students.”

The National Committee on US-China Relations, a US non-profit organization, define “people-to-people diplomacy” as “non-governmental exchanges between citizens of two countries that contribute to strengthening relations between the two countries”, and date the 1971 table tennis games played between the USA and China as an example.

In July 2022, the Director of National Intelligence warned that “PRC influence operations can be deceptive and coercive, with seemingly benign business opportunities or people-to-people exchanges sometimes masking PRC political agendas.”

The State Department recently announced that Biden will meet with Xi “to discuss issues in the US-PRC bilateral relationship, the continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication, and a range of regional and global issues.”

“Starting with their last meeting in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, the leaders will also discuss how the United States and the PRC can continue to manage competition responsibly and work together where our interests align, particularly in the transnational challenges affecting the international community,” the State Department said.

The Global Times also highlighted that recent bilateral talks “have resulted in some positive signals, particularly a consensus against decoupling”, citing US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s meetings on 8-12 November with the Chinese Vice Premier, He Lifeng.

In September, Biden he insisted that the US does not seek to contain China, stressing that “slippage of risk is not decoupling”, during a speech at the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, China is experiencing slow economic growth as foreign companies leave the communist nation. Xi recently denounced economic decoupling during the Belt and Road Forum in October, Reuters reported.

“We oppose unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling and disruption of the supply chain,” Xi said, according to Reuters.

The Chinese Embassy and the White House did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.

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