Biden to meet China’s Xi next month: White House confirms talks just two days after Beijing’s top army general warned he would show “no mercy” to a nation that supports Taiwan
- It will be a “tough but important conversation,” the White House said
- Secretary of State Blinken canceled visit to Beijing due to spy balloon incident
- It comes amid tensions over espionage, trade, the Ukraine war and the Middle East
President Joe Biden will hold a long-delayed meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Asia-Pacific leaders summit in San Francisco next month, the White House confirmed Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the meeting after saying Biden was preparing for a “tough but important conversation” with his counterpart.
“We talked about it. The president said he looks forward to meeting with President Xi and will therefore not elaborate on that meeting, which will take place next month. “It will be in San Francisco, it will be a constructive meeting, the president is looking forward to it,” she said during her White House briefing.
President Joe Biden plans to have a “tough conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping
The talks will come at a time when global affairs are tense and China hopes to play an important role in the Israel-Hamas conflict in this conflict too anti-Semitic posts via state media and Online maps in China that do not list Israel as a country.
Xi also maintained close ties with Russia both before and after the invasion of Ukraine, in a conflict that has raised fears about his own territorial claims or even plans to invade Taiwan.
Speaking during a Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a senior Chinese military official said China would “never agree” to a separate Taiwan.
General Zhang Youxia, deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission, with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He declared that China’s People’s Liberation Army would “show no mercy” as Taiwan moves toward independence.
“No matter who wants to separate Taiwan from China in any way, the Chinese military will never agree to it,” he said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that the meeting would take place at the APEC summit in San Francisco
Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said on Monday that China’s People’s Liberation Army would “show no mercy” as Taiwan moves closer to independence
Youxia met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (l.) at the forum in the midst of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden was considering lifting U.S. tariffs on China imposed during the Trump administration. These tariffs have infuriated China and are part of a strained relationship.
She declined to give a direct answer, but said that alongside “intense competition” there would also be “intense diplomacy.”
“This will be an important diplomatic conversation,” she said of the meeting as part of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
“What I mean is that we are aiming for a constructive discussion meeting between leaders in November in San Francisco, so that’s what I’m saying,” Jean-Pierre said. “I think I just confirmed it.”
The planned meeting comes after a series of diplomatic moves involving Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other officials.