President Biden to Meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at APEC Summit

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have their first face-to-face meeting in a year on Wednesday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the San Francisco Bay area, as announced by the White House. The meeting will cover a wide range of topics, including conflicts in the Middle East, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's relationship with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl, artificial intelligence, and fair trade. Administration officials have emphasized that no topics will be off-limits in the discussion.

The location of the meeting has not been disclosed due to security concerns, as thousands of protesters are expected to gather in San Francisco during the summit. The last time the two leaders met was at a G20 meeting in November 2022, and they have not had any direct communication since then.

One of the primary objectives of the meeting is to maintain open channels of communication and manage the competition between the two nations, while preventing conflicts and addressing potential areas of disagreement. President Biden is expected to raise concerns about China's influence operations in the United States and the status of American citizens detained in China. The administration is particularly worried about Chinese espionage in the U.S. and military aggression towards Taiwan.

The meeting is also an opportunity for President Xi to showcase China as an open and attractive market for American businesses. Following the meeting with President Biden, Xi will address top American business executives at a CEO Summit held alongside the APEC summit.

While the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China under the "One China" policy, it maintains an important partnership with Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific region. President Biden is expected to emphasize the importance of non-interference by Beijing in Taiwan's upcoming elections and to caution President Xi against interfering in American elections.

Overall, the meeting between President Biden and President Xi will play a crucial role in shaping the future relationship between the two global powers and addressing various challenges on the international stage, while keeping communication channels open.