2023-11-17 15:50:58
MONDE – Could the meeting planned to officially reestablish dialogue between the United States and China, on the other hand, initiate a diplomatic crisis? Joe Biden received his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco on Wednesday November 15, 2023. At the end of a four-hour summit, the American president described the discussions between the leaders of the two leading world powers as “constructive and productive”. He announced the resumption of high-level military communications between the two countries and welcomed discussions with Xi Jinping in the future “directly and immediately” in the event of a crisis. But, despite months of diplomatic efforts to revive a stalled dialogue, Joe Biden once again described his counterpart as a “dictator”. Beijing’s anger is reignited.
The two leaders had not spoken since the G20 summit in Bali (Indonesia) in mid-November 2022. On this occasion, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping began an easing of relations between Beijing and Washington. These, very tense since the presidency of Donald Trump, became even more tense upon the arrival of Biden. And the meager progress at the end of 2022 was quickly eclipsed by a diplomatic crisis in February 2023, after a Chinese balloon flew over American territory.
After this episode, the American Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Antony Blinken, then postponed his visit to China and only went there in June, to “stabilize” bilateral relations. In October, a delegation of American senators traveled to China, calling for “manage relationships responsibly”. Efforts to maintain dialogue continued with the visit, at the end of October, of the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, to Washington, aimed at preparing for that of its president in San Francisco.
Resuming the dialogue… that’s already it!
In form, there seemed to be complete agreement between the American head of state and his Chinese counterpart. After a first meeting with their respective delegations, a small lunch and then a one-on-one walk, the two presidents spoke at length. Among the decisions announced is the resumption of high-level military communications, which have been stopped for more than a year.
At the end of the discussions, deemed “constructive and productive”, Joe Biden explained to the press that he and Xi Jinping will now speak “directly and immediately” in the event of a crisis. “He and I agreed that each of us could pick up the phone, call directly and it would be heard immediately”he explained.
On the merits, disagreements persist. Unsurprisingly, the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Sino-Russian rapprochement, Taiwan and the rivalry between the two powers, were the main subjects discussed, in addition to a pharmaceutical question, linked to fentanyl. According to the Biden administration, Xi Jinping agreed to take “a number of significant measures to significantly reduce supplies” in components of this powerful synthetic opiate, produced with chemical compounds manufactured in China. Fentanyl caused more than 106,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2021.
Regarding Taiwan, a territory claimed by Beijing, the American president urged his counterpart to “respect the next electoral process”. He reiterated Washington’s position of refusing to support independence as a takeover by force. In response, Xi Jinping asked Joe Biden to “stop arming Taiwan”reminding him that reunification would be “inevitable”.
An American strategy described as“encirclement“ by China
For his part, the Chinese president denounces the American strategy, described as “encirclement” : economic sanctions imposed on China and Washington’s alliances in the Asia-Pacific. Moreover, his visit to California is part of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, which should allow Uncle Sam to create new contacts and launch new partnerships. An encirclement that Beijing is trying to counter by normalizing its relations with regional powers, such as Australia.
Regarding the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, the United States hopes that China “does not aggravate major international crises” due to its close relations with Russia and Iran. Moscow and Beijing are fully committed against Western hegemony, particularly American, sharing a multipolar vision of the world. At the start of the war in Ukraine, the two countries strengthened their ties, particularly commercial ones, which are crucial for Russia, which thanks to them is mitigating the impact of Western economic sanctions.
“China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not wage a hot or cold war against any country”declared Xi Jinping, in response to his counterpart’s call to “manage rivalry responsibly”in a way to “ensure that it does not degenerate into conflict”. Despite this commercial, economic, military and technological rivalry, “the planet is big enough for our two countries to prosper”insisted the Chinese president.
Biden accused by the Chinese of political manipulation
But suspicions of appeasement quickly gave way to anger. At the end of his meeting with Xi Jinping, Joe Biden once again described him as “dictator”. “He is a dictator in the sense that here is a man who runs a communist country, which is based on a form of government totally different from ours”he tried to explain.
The Chinese reaction was quick. On the morning of Thursday, November 16, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared: “This type of speech is extremely wrong and constitutes irresponsible political manipulation. China firmly opposes it.”
Did Joe Biden undermine months of diplomatic efforts? “We have not always agreed, which is no surprise, but our meetings have always been frank, direct and useful”estimated the American president.
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