Focus on Arts and Ecology

November 19, 2021 

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden on the morning of November 16, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office. The meeting touched upon important strategic issues in China-U.S. bilateral relations and sent a clear signal that the two countries want to cooperate and are willing to manage differences to avoid conflict.

Since Biden took office, China-U.S. relations have been characterized by both continuity and change. The U.S. strategy toward China follows the general framework of "great power competition" while overt hostility has decreased since the Trump administration. But some disagreements are still intensifying, and China-U.S. relations remain under pressure.

Xi: Ready to move relations forward in a positive direction

Here are some major points discussed at the meeting:

• Setting aside the tensions between the two countries, Xi and Biden agreed to avoid confrontation and expressed their willingness to communicate and cooperate
• Both sides welcomed sound and steady development of the bilateral relationship
• Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation are three principles in developing China-U.S. relations in the new era, Xi told Biden.
• The Taiwan question has always been a source of tensions in China-U.S. ties. The issue was also raised at the meeting during which Xi made it clear that the true status quo is: "there is but one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China."
• China and the U.S. will permit journalists and other media personnel to freely move between the two countries on the condition they strictly comply with COVID-19 containment protocols and consular regulations

Aside from focusing on bilateral relationships, why did the Chinese and U.S. leaders meet at this time?

Former U.S. Secretary of State and seasoned diplomat Henry Kissinger has said that the virtual meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden was a good beginning to head off a clash between the world's biggest economies.

Is the China-U.S. relationship settling into a 'new normal'?

What does the China-U.S. relationship mean in this new era? The virtual meeting between the two countries' presidents on November 16 is a start in defining its fundamental nature.

Figuring it out is going to be a slow and occasionally painful process. 

While the total value of China-U.S. trade increased by 23.4 percent year on year to 3.95 trillion yuan (about $620 billion) in the first 10 months of 2021, accounting for 12.5 percent of China's total foreign trade value during the period, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The volume made the U.S. China's third-largest trading partner, following ASEAN and the European Union between January and October. 

And the cooperation could also be seen during COP26 when a surprise deal between China and the U.S. at the summit provided a catalyst for climate negotiations in Glasgow. The two nations pledged to work together to combat climate change. And while the agreement is light when it comes to firm targets, it has encouraged negotiations at the summit – which environmentalists had criticized for not going far enough to keep global warming to a minimum.

Watch our discussion on The HEAT.

(Sources: China Report)