Biden, Xi to discuss communication, competition at APEC Summit

During his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Tuesday that he hopes to restore regular military-to-military communication between the two superpowers.

After making remarks on climate change at the White House, Biden told reporters that he is working to improve relations between the United States and China following a period of tense relations. On Wednesday, the two leaders will meet in the San Francisco region.

“We anticipate that the leaders will discuss some of the most fundamental elements of the U.S.-PRC bilateral relationship, including the continued importance of strengthening open lines of communication and managing competition responsibly so that it does not veer into conflict,” Sullivan said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

“The way we achieve that is through intense diplomacy. That’s how we clear up misperceptions and avoid surprises.”

According to Sullivan, Biden would enter the summit “on a solid footing,” having put the country in a position to compete successfully both domestically and internationally and boasting “the strongest recovery and lowest inflation of any leading economy.”

He stated that Washington was hoping to see some concrete results from the meeting, such as the restoration of military-to-military relations with China and progress against the fentanyl trade, which has turned into a national crisis.

Following a visit by former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, an island with democratic governance that China claims as its own, China had severed military-to-military communications with the US last year. When the United States shot down a spy balloon in February, the already tense relations further deteriorated.

(With agency inputs)