San Francisco: Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the United States on his first visit in six years, during which he will meet with Joe Biden at an unknown location on Wednesday morning In the Francisco Bay Area.
After Biden’s meeting, Shi will attend the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.
Xi Jinping’s summit with Biden will be the first face-to-face meeting between US and Chinese leaders in a year, given the opportunity for US officials to reduce friction Called as what many see as the most dangerous hostility in the world.
On arrival, Shi waved off the stairs of his Air China plane and landed at Termak to meet with US officials، Including Finance Minister Janet Yellen and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
He then boarded his Chinese Hongki, or “Red Flag” limousine, and left the airport for San Francisco، Where demonstrations are expected in favor of and against his visit.
Less than two hours ago, US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken addressed the 21-member APEC ministers and stressed that the United States “He believes in “a region where economies are free to choose their own path…Where goods, ideas, people flow legally and freely.”
Blanken did not mention China, But his language echoes American rhetoric in recent years in which Washington accuses China of bullying small Indo-Crisis countries And trying to undermine what the United States and its allies call the “rules-based” order.
US Trade Representative Catherine Tai, who opened the APEC ministerial meeting with Blanken، The San Francisco meeting took place at a time when there were “great uncertainties and challenges” for the region. He noted growing geopolitical tensions, weak supply chains and a deteriorating climate crisis.
Before، Biden said his goal was to improve relations with China after a long tense relationship and that normal contacts between the two superpowers resumed Will try, including military contacts with the military.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Biden and Shi supported the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza, as well as the war against Ukraine The Russian military will also talk about US efforts.
Economic issues will be at the top of the agenda.
Biden said the United States does not want to secede from China but wants to change economic relations for the better. Its administration has called for “de-risk” of some key US supply chains from China as both countries have increased economic and military competition.
Shi, who is trying to persuade foreign investment during the APEC to counter his country’s recent struggle، He is expected to dine with top US business executives on Wednesday.
For American businesses، This will be an opportunity to hear directly from the Chinese leader because of the uncertainty created by the country’s economic slowdown and the expansion of Chinese security laws Find ways to navigate the situation.
Concerns about showdown
Biden has been cautious in reassuring countries in the region, including China, that the United States does not want full economic separation, A concept that has raised fears of a superpower showdown between Washington’s partners and allies that will affect the global economy.
China withdrew from the United States in August 2022 after Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, visited Taiwan, which is democratically governed but Chinese-claimed Military contacts cut off.
Restoring contacts between the two armies to avoid miscalculation is America’s greatest goal.
Washington also hopes to cooperate more in combating the production of powerful synthetic opioid drug fentanyl from Beijing، Which has become a curse in the United States and especially in San Francisco.
Sino-US relations worsened in February after Biden ordered the shooting of a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States.
Top Biden administration officials have since visited Beijing and met with their counterparts in an effort to rebuild communication and trust.
Hundreds of pro-China protesters were carrying Chinese flags, gathered outside the Chinese delegation’s hotel before Xi’s arrival in the United States.
Large demonstrations, including rights groups criticizing Xi’s policies against Tibet, Hong Kong and Muslim Uighurs, are expected near the summit venue on Wednesday.
As soon as Biden arrived in San Francisco, shortly before Xi’s landing, double protesters greeted the US president’s motorcycle from the airport. Some waved Chinese flags and held banners calling for “kind” and “hot” US-China relations. Others had raised signs of condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier on Tuesday, a small plane flew over the APEC summit in central San Francisco, following a banner that read، “END CCP FREE CHINA FREE HK FREE TIBET FREE UIGHUR, referring to China’s treatment of Uighurs, which the Biden administration calls “genocide”.
