G20 Bali Summit: Xi to discuss ‘right way forward’ for US, China in his first in-person talks with Biden

PTI

Beijing, November 11

On his first visit abroad after his unprecedented third term win, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 leaders' summit next week in Bali where he will meet his US counterpart Joe Biden and discuss the “right way forward” to manage the differences between the two countries and avoid "miscalculation", the Foreign Ministry here said on Friday.

Xi will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, Thailand from November 17 to 19, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

This will be Xi's first visit abroad after his election last month for an unprecedented third five-year term as the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) at its once-in-a-five-year Congress.

He is the first leader after party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power after completing a 10-year tenure.

According to Hua, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in the Indonesian city of Bali and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Xi will hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Biden, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, among others, upon request.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attending the G20 summit. It is significant for India as it will assume the Presidency of the powerful grouping from the current chair Indonesia on December 1.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

Xi's meeting with Biden will be the first in-person summit after he got elected as the US President in 2021. The two, however, had held several virtual summits.

For Biden, the meeting is taking place amid fairly good results in the midterm polls for the Democrats who largely managed to hold their seats in both in the Senate and the US House of Representatives belying forecasts of the opposition Republican party wave, which observers say will strengthen his position in his crucial talks with Xi.

Biden already said he would discuss America's “red lines” over Taiwan among other issues during an expected meeting with Xi.

 “Look, I'm not willing to make any fundamental concessions,” Biden said during a post-election press conference at the White House, when asked if he would tell Xi whether the US would defend the self-ruled island from a Chinese attack.

 “What I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what each of our red lines are, understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of China, what I know to be in the critical interests in the United States, and to determine whether or not they conflict with one another,” he said. “And if they do, how to resolve it and how to work it out.”     From his side, Xi will discuss establishing the "right way forward", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Friday.

 “China views and grows its relations with the US in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as proposed by President Xi, and calls for establishing the right way forward for bilateral relations," Zhao said when asked what Chinese side highlights at the talks.

 “At the same time, we will firmly defend our sovereignty, security and development interests. It is important for the US to work together with China to properly manage differences, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation, and bring China-US relations back to the right track of sound and steady development," Zhao said.

The steady growth of China-US relations serves the interests of both sides and meets the expectations of the world, he said.

Asked about Biden's remarks that he does not think that China and Russia are forming an alliance and Beijing and Moscow are “keeping their distance” Zhao said “I can tell you that China's relations with Russia are rock-solid”.

 “The long-term sound and steady advancement of China-Russia relations are primarily built on a high degree of mutual trust and strong internal dynamics," he said.

“China will continue to work with Russia to move forward bilateral relations on a right and steady track,” he said.

There has been growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, trade policies, Beijing's relationship with Russia and more.

The ties further deteriorated this year over a UN human rights report on Xinjiang and US semiconductor export restrictions that aim to curb China's fledgling chip industry.  

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#China #Joe Biden #Taiwan #United States of America USA #United States of America USA #Xi Jinping