BEIJING: President of China Xi Jinping arrived on Monday for the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, after nearly three years of self-isolation because of the pandemic.
Having just won a rule-breaking third term as Communist Party leader, Xi will be well-positioned to meet a host of powerful dignitaries on his second overseas trip since the beginning. 2020.
Here’s a rundown of Xi’s confirmed meetings this week — and what’s at stake:
On Monday afternoon, Mr. Xi met the US President Joe Biden for their first face-to-face talks since the US leader was elected and the first Sino-American summit since 2019.
The rivalry between the world’s top two economies is intensifying, as Beijing grows more powerful and determined to overcome the US-led global order that has dominated for decades.
The two have spoken on the phone five times since. Biden took office last year.
Biden is expected to push China to rein in ally North Korea after a record series of missile tests.
But the biggest sticking point remains Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by Beijing.
After the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Visiting Taiwan in August, China held large-scale military exercises to show unprecedented threat and canceled many US-China cooperation projects.
Since then, US officials have said they believe China has speeded up time to seize the island, and Biden has suggested – in comments later rebutted – that Washington would provide military support. support for Taiwan if Taiwan is attacked.
Xi will meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, in the first leadership meeting between the two countries since 2019.
This is another highly-anticipated meeting in which both sides will seek to mend their relationship after it deteriorated rapidly in the early days of the pandemic.
Canberra has criticized Beijing for its apparent lack of transparency about the origins of the Covid pandemic, which has resulted in China freezing ministerial-level communications and imposing a trade embargo on some Australian goods.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and Albanese called on Beijing to lift trade sanctions soon after forming his new centre-left government in May.
However, Australia’s actions to strengthen security and defense ties with other NATO members have angered China, and both countries are now jostling for influence over the Pacific island nations that have been displaced by the conflict. West abandoned long ago.
Quickly follow in the footsteps of the German Chancellor Olaf ScholzFollowing a visit to Beijing this month, Beijing confirmed a meeting between Xi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Bali.
Macron will no doubt feel pressure to address Ukraine, after Scholz asked Xi to state that China opposes the use of nuclear weapons – a rare admission as Beijing often does not openly point out citing the actions of its Russian ally.
Macron will also seek to forge deteriorating relations between China and the European Union, following a tense phone call between Xi and EU leaders in April, later described as a “confrontation”. voice of the deaf”.
In return, Xi will want to secure further trade cooperation with France and seek to separate Europe from the United States.
Indonesian officials have confirmed that Mr. Xi will meet President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, during his stay from Monday to Thursday.
After eight years in power, the Indonesian leader is looking to increase his international influence, trying to negotiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The last time he visited China was in July, there were many phone calls with Mr. Xi during the pandemic.
Jokowi will want to strengthen economic ties with its country’s largest trading partner, but a major China-funded railway is experiencing construction delays and concerns about too much debt for the country. with China.
Xi will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday at the APEC summit in Bangkok.
China-Japan relations are at a low point after Tokyo took a tougher stance on security issues including Taiwan and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, and moved closer to Washington. .
But Tokyo still needs Beijing’s support on the North Korean nuclear issue, despite China’s reluctance to use stronger measures against its fickle neighbor.
Having just won a rule-breaking third term as Communist Party leader, Xi will be well-positioned to meet a host of powerful dignitaries on his second overseas trip since the beginning. 2020.
Here’s a rundown of Xi’s confirmed meetings this week — and what’s at stake:
On Monday afternoon, Mr. Xi met the US President Joe Biden for their first face-to-face talks since the US leader was elected and the first Sino-American summit since 2019.
The rivalry between the world’s top two economies is intensifying, as Beijing grows more powerful and determined to overcome the US-led global order that has dominated for decades.
The two have spoken on the phone five times since. Biden took office last year.
Biden is expected to push China to rein in ally North Korea after a record series of missile tests.
But the biggest sticking point remains Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by Beijing.
After the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Visiting Taiwan in August, China held large-scale military exercises to show unprecedented threat and canceled many US-China cooperation projects.
Since then, US officials have said they believe China has speeded up time to seize the island, and Biden has suggested – in comments later rebutted – that Washington would provide military support. support for Taiwan if Taiwan is attacked.
Xi will meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, in the first leadership meeting between the two countries since 2019.
This is another highly-anticipated meeting in which both sides will seek to mend their relationship after it deteriorated rapidly in the early days of the pandemic.
Canberra has criticized Beijing for its apparent lack of transparency about the origins of the Covid pandemic, which has resulted in China freezing ministerial-level communications and imposing a trade embargo on some Australian goods.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and Albanese called on Beijing to lift trade sanctions soon after forming his new centre-left government in May.
However, Australia’s actions to strengthen security and defense ties with other NATO members have angered China, and both countries are now jostling for influence over the Pacific island nations that have been displaced by the conflict. West abandoned long ago.
Quickly follow in the footsteps of the German Chancellor Olaf ScholzFollowing a visit to Beijing this month, Beijing confirmed a meeting between Xi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Bali.
Macron will no doubt feel pressure to address Ukraine, after Scholz asked Xi to state that China opposes the use of nuclear weapons – a rare admission as Beijing often does not openly point out citing the actions of its Russian ally.
Macron will also seek to forge deteriorating relations between China and the European Union, following a tense phone call between Xi and EU leaders in April, later described as a “confrontation”. voice of the deaf”.
In return, Xi will want to secure further trade cooperation with France and seek to separate Europe from the United States.
Indonesian officials have confirmed that Mr. Xi will meet President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, during his stay from Monday to Thursday.
After eight years in power, the Indonesian leader is looking to increase his international influence, trying to negotiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The last time he visited China was in July, there were many phone calls with Mr. Xi during the pandemic.
Jokowi will want to strengthen economic ties with its country’s largest trading partner, but a major China-funded railway is experiencing construction delays and concerns about too much debt for the country. with China.
Xi will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday at the APEC summit in Bangkok.
China-Japan relations are at a low point after Tokyo took a tougher stance on security issues including Taiwan and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, and moved closer to Washington. .
But Tokyo still needs Beijing’s support on the North Korean nuclear issue, despite China’s reluctance to use stronger measures against its fickle neighbor.
