The White House confirmed Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Monday on the island of Bali, Indonesia, as part of next week’s G20 summit.
Biden intends to discuss with Xi issues such as Taiwan, as well as «a range of other topics, including fair trade and relations regarding their relations with other countries in the region,» as well as the war in Ukraine or the tension with North Korea, as highlighted by Bloomberg.
Biden said on the eve that he would not make «fundamental concessions» to China during next week’s G20 summit. «I am not willing to make any fundamental concessions» in the talks, the U.S. leader said, before remarking that he is «seeking competition, not conflict.»
«What I want to do with him (Xi) when we talk is lay out what each other’s red lines are, understand what he believes are China’s critical national interests, what I know are America’s critical interests, and determine whether or not they come into conflict. And if they do, how to resolve it and how to resolve it,» he explained at a press conference.
The meeting between the two on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia will mark the first face-to-face meeting since the U.S. leader took office following his victory in the 2020 election.
It also comes in the context of weakening relations between Washington and Beijing, especially since the latest tensions in the Asian region following the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the island.
In fact, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley on Wednesday pledged military support to Taiwan while warning Beijing to learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to ‘South China Morning Post’.
A day earlier, the Chinese president attended the Central Military Commission (CMC) operations command to oversee military exercises, from where he assured that his troops were «combat-ready,» Xinhua news agency reported.
