This week was all work, no play for US president Biden as he met up with China’s President Xi [shee] Jinping the day before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
It’s been a contentious year since the two world leaders last met, with the severing of military communications causing the US to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon in February and continued economic competition between the two nations. But the meeting on Wednesday seems like a glimmer of unity as Xi and Biden pledged to reopen military communications, work together to curb climate change, and slow the flow of fentanyl into the US. China also declared that they’d used their influence with Iran to help curtail the expansion of the war in Gaza; however, the US and China still remain in conflict about Taiwan. Xi sought Biden’s support for a quote “peaceful unification” with the island, but Biden is throwing his weight behind Taiwan’s sovereignty. By the end of the meeting, both Xi and Biden felt that they’d made a lot of progress in bridging the US-China divide, just in time for the APEC meeting.
The annual conference brings together the heads of many nations and other big economic and diplomatic leaders, and this year, Biden announced his commitment to successful trade and partnerships that will benefit many countries across the Pacific.
Global trade has historically been about keeping prices low, accessing new markets, and maximizing profits, but in recent years, these efforts have struggled. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weakness of supply chains, climate change often led to the shutdown of factories, and new technology reshaped company and worker operations. The violence in Ukraine and Gaza has also increased the financial risks for the countries in APEC, furthering the vulnerability of our global economy.
And yet, there may be hope.
Overall, APEC members have invested $1.7 trillion dollars in the US economy, and in return the US has invested roughly $1.4 trillion in APEC countries. It seems these relationships will not only continue, they will also grow.
Biden announced to business leaders at the summit that the US would be expanding their economic ventures outside of China, aiming to quote “de-risk and diversify” but not “decouple” from Beijing. He asserted that the US and China do not see eye-to-eye on maintaining a fair and level economic atmosphere and protecting intellectual property. Biden also praised the work of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework established in 2022, which stands on four main pillars: supply chains, climate, anti-corruption, and trade. He said this initiative allowed for speedier trade negotiations, which will certainly serve to strengthen US ties to the region, a key issue at the summit on Wednesday.
Another topic of concern was climate change, but don’t worry because Biden was on it. He spoke of his efforts to improve sustainability, address climate change, and bolster clean energy in the US.
And if that’s not enough good news, Xi Jinping agreed to send a few more giant pandas to the US from China! Overall, a successful APEC summit!
Thanks for tuning in to today’s C2 Story, and don’t forget to let us know how excited you are for pandas!
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