U.S. President Joe Biden intends to «clearly address» issues such as Taiwan, Ukraine and human rights in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Bali on Monday.
«I think I have always had clear conversations with him. There’s never been any misunderstanding of what, where we each stand and I think that’s critically important in our relationship,» Biden explained from Nom Pen, in Cambodia, before leaving for Bali to participate in the G-20 summit.
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Biden was elected president of the United States, although they have had several telephone conversations.
Biden has explained that he hopes the meeting will serve to establish «red lines.» «I know Xi Jinping. I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader. I know him well. He knows me. There are no … we’ve had almost no misunderstandings. We just have to figure out where the red lines are and what things are most important to each of us for the next two years,» he has argued.
Xi comes in strengthened after winning a historic second re-election as head of the Asian country last month that will allow him to remain at China’s helm for five more years and with a political environment made up mostly of allies. «His circumstances at home have changed, to put it bluntly,» Biden said of Xi.
Precisely Taiwan — a domestic issue for China — will be one of the possible points of friction, although the relationship with Russia or the North Korean ballistic tests could also come up.
