This blog is now closed. Here is our full article on today’s meeting between Biden and Xi:
Joe Biden has claimed that his summit meeting with Xi Jinping has brought substantial progress, including agreements on limiting narcotics trafficking, restoring militaries lines of communication, and to start talking about the global risks posed by artificial intelligence.
However, it was clear that after more than four hours of talks in a mansion outside San Francisco, the meeting had not brought the US and China any closer on the fate of Taiwan, which Xi reportedly told Biden was “the biggest, most potentially dangerous issue in US-China relations”.
Furthermore, Biden himself risked undoing some of the bridge-building at the summit, the first between the two leaders for a year, with an off-the-cuff response to a reporter’s question at the tail-end of a press conference, in which he confirmed he still looked on Xi as a dictator.
“Look, he is,” the president said. “He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours.”
Updated
Summary
This blog is closing shortly. Here is a summary of of the meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping:
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held their first face-to-face talks in a year on Wednesday, and agreed to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production. Biden and Xi met for about four hours on the outskirts of San Francisco to discuss issues that have strained US-Chinese relations.
The two leaders “agreed Wednesday to resume on the basis of equality and respect high-level military-to-military communication,” Beijing state media said after the meeting. China severed military contact after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Biden announced this in remarks after the talks, saying, “We’re back to direct, open clear direct communication on a direct basis,” and, “That’s how accidents happen […] misunderstandings. So we’re back to direct, open, clear communications on a direct basis.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart when that person is named, a senior US official said.
Biden said he and Xi agreed to high-level communications. “He and I agreed that each one of us can pick up the phone call directly and we’ll be heard immediately.”
Ahead of the meeting Xi and Biden also pledged to cooperate more closely to fight climate change, both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
During the meeting Xi Jinping called the partnership between the US and China “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and said that he and Joe Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history”.
Biden emphasised the value of the two leaders speaking in person, telling Xi, “There’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions”. Biden also said, “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict,” and that the two countries, “also have to manage it responsibly … and work together when we see it in our interest to do so.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden at a summit to stop arming Taiwan, Beijing said Thursday. “The US side should... stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification,” Xi told Biden, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry. “China will realise reunification, and this is unstoppable,” the Chinese leader said of the future of the self-ruled island, which Beijing has pledged to re-take one day.
When asked by a reporter whether or not he trusted Xi Jinping in the contest of their joint efforts to reduce the flow fentanyl, Biden said, “I know the man, I know his modus operandi…he’s been straight.” He added that he and Xi talked about Taiwan’s election and Biden “expects no interference” from China’s government.
In addition, the summit saw the two men agree to set up joint government talks on the use of artificial intelligence, as well as a working group on counternarcotics cooperation, Xinhua news agency said. They further committed to work towards stepping up scheduled passenger flights between their countries early next year. And they agreed to deepen cooperation on climate change and step up joint efforts ahead of this month’s COP28 summit in Dubai.
Xi told Biden that China did not seek to “surpass or unseat the United States” and stressed that “the United States should not scheme to suppress and contain China”.
“China will not follow the old path of colonisation and plunder, nor will it follow the wrong path of hegemony when a country becomes strong,” Xi said, according to Xinhua. China’s development, he said, “will not be stopped by external forces”.
Xi also warned Washington that Beijing was dissatisfied with sanctions and other measures against its companies. “US actions against China regarding export control, investment screening and unilateral sanctions seriously hurt China’s legitimate interests,” Xi said. “Suppressing China’s science and technology is curbing China’s high-quality development and depriving the Chinese people of their right to development.”Following the meeting, the White House said that the US president and Chinese president had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues, including international diplomacy.
Biden also doubled down on comments he made in June calling Xi Jinping a “dictator.” In response to a question from a reporter Biden said, “Well look, he is, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country, based on a form of government that is totally different from ours.”
In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war. Among other comments about hostage negotiations and his approval of Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions Biden said of the Israel-Hamas war, “I don’t know how long it’s going to last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution.”
Joe Biden has presented an unapologetic defence of his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that Hamas presented a continuing threat to Israel and that Israeli forces were seeking to avoid civilian casualties.
After a summit meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco, Biden told reporters on Wednesday night: “Hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking Israel again like they did before, cutting babies’ heads off, burning women and children alive. So the idea that they’re going to just stop and not do anything is not realistic.”
Reports that Hamas beheaded babies in the 7 October attack on Israeli civilians remain unconfirmed, though the brutality of the massacre in which about 1,200 people were killed is not in doubt. The Israeli military made the claim in the first few days after 7 October, but the claims have not been independently verified.
Here is our video report on the meeting between Biden and Xi:
Bilateral meetings aren’t always conducive to a personal touch, and Biden and Xi were flanked by advisers on opposite sides of a long table. However, a senior administration official said they spoke about their wives, and Biden wished Xi’s wife a happy birthday.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said Xi was embarrassed, and he admitted that he had forgotten his wife’s upcoming birthday because he’s been working so hard.
Biden and Xi go back years, and Biden often repeats the story of their meetings when they were both vice presidents, the Associated Press reports.
But on Wednesday, it was Xi’s turn to reference their previous encounters during brief public remarks, although he eschewed the embellishments that Biden usually adds to the tale.
“It was 12 years ago,” Xi said. “I still remember our interactions very vividly, and it always gives me a lot of thoughts.”
Biden also emphasised the length of their relationship and the value of their interactions.
“We haven’t always agreed, which was not a surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful,” Biden said. He added that “it’s paramount that you and I understand eachother clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication.”
Key takeaways: Xi asked Biden to lift sanctions and change export controls
Xi arrived in San Francisco at a time of economic challenges back in China, where an ageing population and growing debt have hampered its recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Beijing’s description of the meeting, Xi pressed Biden to lift sanctions and change policies on export controls for sensitive equipment.
“Stifling China’s technological progress is nothing but a move to contain China’s high-quality development and deprive the Chinese people of their right to development,” the readout said.
“China’s development and growth, driven by its own inherent logic, will not be stopped by external forces.”
There’s no indication that Biden will agree to take such steps. But even the meeting itself could calm jittery nerves back in China, where there have been signs foreign investment is tapering off.
Zhang Lei, a Chinese businessman whose company, Cheche Group, is listed on Nasdaq, said high-level meetings such as the one between Biden and Xi can help assure companies that have been hesitant to invest in China.
“Confrontations don’t work,” he said. “You don’t make money with confrontations.”
Key takeaways: Biden asked Xi to use his influence on Iran and Russia
Beijing has long sought to be treated as an equal by Washington, and Biden sought to leverage those ambitions with Xi to address two devastating wars.
In their private session, Biden appealed to Xi to use his influence to try to calm global tensions, particularly to try to pressure Iran not to widen the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
A US official said Biden did most of the talking on the matter, and that Xi mostly listened, and that it was too soon to tell what sort of message China was sending to Tehran and how it was being received.
Biden has also pressed Xi to continue to withhold military support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Key takeaways: China says it will curb the production of fentanyl-related products
AP: Xi agreed to help curb the production of the illicit fentanyl that is a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States. A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, said the shift will be a setback for Latin American drug dealers.
“It’s going to save lives, and I appreciated President Xi’s commitment on this issue,” Biden said at a press conference after his meeting.
Beijing state media said after the meeting that the two leaders “agreed Wednesday to resume on the basis of equality and respect high-level military-to-military communication”.
When asked by a reporter whether or not he trusted Xi in the contest of their joint efforts to reduce the flow fentanyl, Biden said, “I know the man, I know his modus operandi…he’s been straight.”
Updated
Key takeaways: Taiwan
Biden and Xi held a “clear-headed” and “not heated” discussion on Taiwan, the most sensitive topic in the relationship, with the greatest potential to spiral into wider conflict. Biden said he reaffirmed the United States’ “One China” policy and its belief that any resolution must be peaceful.
“I’m not going to change that,” Biden said. “That’s not going to change.”
Biden said in the press conference after the meeting that he and Xi talked about Taiwan’s election and Biden “expects no interference” from China’s government.
He reiterated, though, that the US would continue to arm Taiwan as a deterrent against any attempt by China to use force to reunify the self-governing island with the mainland. The US had maintained strategic ambiguity about whether it would directly intervene to protect Taiwan in the event of an invasion by Beijing.
Xi, a US official said, told Biden he had no plans to invade the island, though Biden chided him for China’s massive military build-up around Taiwan. Biden also called on China to avoid meddling in Taiwan’s elections next year.
Xi warned US President Joe Biden at a summit to stop arming Taiwan, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
“The US side should... stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification,” Xi told Biden.
“China will realise reunification, and this is unstoppable,” the Chinese leader said of the future of the self-ruled island, which Beijing has pledged to re-take one day.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Zoe Liu, a fellow for China studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, has described the meeting between Biden and Xi as a positive step, albeit an incremental one.
“These agreements will not change the structural challenges in the bilateral relations, but it paves the way for more detailed working-level discussions, which is more important,” she said.
Key takeways: Resuming military-military communications
Let’s take another look at the key takeaways from today’s meeting between Biden and Xi.
First up, resuming military-to-military communications.
China severed military contact after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
On Wednesday, the two leaders reached an agreement to resume military-to-military communications. That means Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will speak with his Chinese counterpart once someone is named to the job, the official said. Similar engagements will take place up and down the military chain of command.
The official said Biden was “very clear” to Xi that such communications between US and China should be institutionalised and that they are “not done as a gift or as a favor to either side.”
This is Helen Sullivan taking the Guardian’s live coverage.
Updated
You can see the White House video of the press conference held by Joe Biden below:
Happening Now: President Biden holds a press conference following the U.S.-PRC Summit. https://t.co/XUxgS6sAYa
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 16, 2023
A selection of images from the day
Summary
Here’s a summary of Biden’s first meeting with Xi Jinping since the pair were in Bali last year, and Biden’s subsequent remarks on the meeting.
During the meeting at the Filoli estate, 30 miles south of San Francisco, Xi Jinping called the partnership between the US and China “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and said that he and Joe Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history”.
Ahead of the meeting, Xi and Biden pledged to cooperate more closely to fight climate change. Both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
Biden emphasized the value of the two leaders speaking in person, saying: “There’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions.” “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict,” Biden added. “And we also have to manage it responsibly … and work together when we see it in our interest to do so.”
In a tweet, the White House said that the US president and Chinese president had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues including international diplomacy.
In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi Jinping and the US’s relationship with China, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war. Among other comments about hostage negotiations and his approval of Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions, Biden said of the Israel-Hamas war: “I don’t know how long it’s gonna last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution.”
Thank you for following the Guardian’s live blog. My colleagues in Australia will be picking things up from here.
Updated
In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi Jinping and the US’s relationship with China, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war.
When asked whether or not he has set a deadline for his support of Israel’s military actions, and whether he’s comfortable with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions, he answered “yes” to the first part of the question and “no” to the second.
In regard to the release of hostages, Biden said he is “working to move forward on hostage negotiations”. He said he didn’t want to “get ahead” of himself by sharing specific details on progress, and clarified that he has no plans to send in the US military to remove hostages.
Biden added that he doesn’t expect to see an end to the war until “Hamas no longer has the capacity to murder, abuse and do horrific things to the Israelis”.
“I don’t know how long it’s gonna last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution,” he added.
Updated
Biden wished Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, a happy early birthday – she and Biden share the same 20 November birthday. Xi said he was embarrassed as he had been working so hard and had forgotten that his wife’s birthday was next week. He thanked Biden for reminding him, according to a Biden administration official.
Updated
Joe Biden doubled down on comments he made in June calling Xi Jinping a “dictator”.
In response to a question from a reporter, the US president said: “Well, look, he is, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country, based on a form of government that is totally different from ours.”
Updated
According to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to the state media, Xi Jinping confirmed the country’s willingness to restart military talks, but warned Biden against arming Taiwan.
‘The US side should ... stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification,’ Xi told Biden, according to Chinese state media. ‘China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable,’ the Chinese leader said of the future of the self-ruled island, which Beijing has pledged to retake one day.
Updated
Joe Biden announced that military-to-military contacts will resume between the US and China
During his San Francisco press conference, the US president said military-to-military contacts will resume between the two countries.
Biden said:
That’s how accidents happen. Misunderstandings. So we’re back to direct, open, clear communications on a direct basis.
Updated
When asked by a Bloomberg reporter whether or not he trusted Xi Jinping in the contest of their joint efforts to reduce the flow of fentanyl, Biden said: “I know the man, I know his modus operandi … he’s been straight.”
He added that he and Xi talked about Taiwan’s election and that he “expects no interference” from China’s government.
Updated
Joe Biden says that the US will continue to compete with the People’s Republic of China, but will do so “responsibly” as not to create “unintentional conflict”.
He also announced a plan for Chinese experts to convene with US experts to “talk about the risks of AI”.
On artificial intelligence, the president said:
These are tangible steps in the right direction to determine what’s useful and not useful, what’s dangerous and what’s acceptable.
Updated
Joe Biden has began his remarks. The president’s first remarks are announcing a cooperation between China and the US to stem the flow of fentanyl and pill presses into the US.
You can watch Biden’s talk here.
Updated
As we await Joe Biden’s San Francisco press conference, here’s a quick summary of the day:
Xi Jinping described the relationship between the US and China as “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and one that should be “perceived and envisioned in a broad context of the accelerating global transformations”.
ABC’s senior White House correspondent Selina Wang reported that following Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s opening remarks, she asked Xi in Mandarin: “Do you trust Biden?” After the question, Wang said Xi “took out his translation earpiece to hear my question, looked at me, but didn’t respond”.
The lead-up to Xi Jinping’s first visit to the US since 2017 was filled with meticulous planning, including cleanups of San Francisco homeless encampments, pre-determined camera angles to capture the meeting of the two heads of state, and specific seating arrangements, NBC News reports. “There is no detail too small,” Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told the outlet.
Updated
In addition to talks about international relations and diplomacy, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping shared a meal. Here’s what was on the menu, the White House told the San Francisco Chronicle:
Herbed ricotta ravioli with artichoke crisps;
Tarragon-roasted heritage chicken with Carolina gold rice pilaf and charred broccolini and brussels sprouts;
Almond meringue cake with praline buttercream and Concord grape sauce.
Updated
Thought there has been no official readout of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s meeting, which ended recently and lasted several hours, some details are beginning to emerge via Reuters.
During their talk, the Chinese president called on the US to stop arming Taiwan and to support China’s “reunification” with the island, and said that he hopes the US president will lift unilateral sanctions that impact China.
Biden left the estate where the meeting was held and raised two thumbs up to reporters and said the the talks with Xi went “well”.
We’re about 30 minutes out from Biden’s press conference in San Francisco.
Updated
As Joe Biden heads from his meeting with Xi Jinping in Woodside, a small California town, to San Francisco, the White House tweeted that the US president and Chinese president had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues including international diplomacy.
Biden is scheduled to give a press conference from the Apec summit in about an hour.
Today in Woodside, California President Biden held a Summit with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral and global issues and exchanged views on areas of difference. pic.twitter.com/IBqk88ZnHm
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 15, 2023
Updated
During the meeting at the Filoli estate, 30 miles south of San Francisco, Xi Jinping called the partnership between the US and China “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and said that he and Joe Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history”. Xi added:
For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,. It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides.
Updated
Singer Gwen Stefani is slated to be the headline performer at Joe Biden’s Apec reception this evening, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. In January, the pop singer fell into hot water when she said in an Allure interview: “My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it.” (Stefani is not Japanese.)
Paul Osaki, the executive director of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, told the Chronicle:
I hope her appearance at Apec is not related to her Harujuku Girls era or feelings about being Japanese. If they want representation of the Japanese culture at the reception, there are several Japanese cultural performing arts groups that are more authentic, not stereotypical and of actual Japanese ancestry.
Read the rest of the Chronicle’s coverage here.
Updated
The lead-up to Xi Jinping’s first visit to the US since 2017 has been filled with meticulous planning including cleanups of San Francisco homeless encampments and pre-determined camera angles to capture the meeting of the two heads of state and specific seating arrangements, NBC News reports.
‘There is no detail too small,’ Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told the outlet.
Any meeting between two heads of state involves a degree of pomp and circumstance, but President Joe Biden’s long-awaited sit-down with Xi on Wednesday is the product of a painstaking process to accommodate China’s many requests. The behind-the-scenes effort is a sign of Beijing’s anxiety over the optics that could result from Xi’s first visit to the US in six years.
Overall, China is looking for Xi’s trip to California to be seen as a ‘grand visit,’ officials said.
Read more about the visit preparation here.
Updated
ABC’s senior White House correspondent Selina Wang reports that following Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s opening remarks, she asked Xi in Mandarin: “Do you trust Biden?”
He took out his translation earpiece to hear my question, looked at me, but didn’t respond,” Wang tweeted.
In the room during Biden-Xi meeting.
— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) November 15, 2023
After their opening remarks, I asked Xi Jinping in mandarin: "do you trust Biden?"
He took out his translation earpiece to hear my question, looked at me, but didn't respond pic.twitter.com/nYVqkfxUuV
Updated
Here is some color from the New York Times on the lush Filoli estate where Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are meeting (the location was largely kept a secret until a day before the bilateral):
The Filoli estate, a grand house and garden on 654 acres of rolling green grounds along the California coast, has been a supporting character in the 1980s television drama ‘Dynasty’ and the 2001 romantic comedy ‘The Wedding Planner.’ It has been the venue for top-dollar nuptials of Facebook executives, and the public can tour the gardens.
Just not on Wednesday.
Top aides to President Biden have worked with Chinese officials for weeks to ensure that this manicured setting would be the perfect backdrop to host a diplomatic summit between Mr Biden and President Xi Jinping of China – two men who share a deep skepticism of each other, but also a mutual belief that their countries must avoid allowing their diplomatic and military interactions to deteriorate from fierce competition into outright conflict …
The site was appealing for a few reasons. It is set among the hills, one of the more isolated spots in a densely populated corner of California. The White House kept the location of the meeting secret until a day before, presumably to keep protesters from surrounding the venue. None were visible at the gates on Wednesday morning as Mr. Biden’s motorcade approached the locale, but some could be seen along the route from San Francisco.
Filoli is a giant estate amid some of the most expensive real estate in the country, built in the early 20th century by a family that made its fortune in the California gold boom and wanted a retreat not far from San Francisco. William Bowers Bourn II, the original owner of the home, decided on the name ‘Filoli’ by mixing together the first few letters of his personal motto: ‘Fight for a just cause. Love your Fellow Man. Live a Good Life.’
Updated
Here are images coming through the newswires of Joe Biden greeting Xi Jinping in San Francisco in their first face-to-face meeting in a year:
Updated
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping sit down for first face-to-face meeting in a year
Joe Biden has welcomed Xi Jinping to San Francisco, where the two leaders are meeting face-to-face for the first time in a year.
As Xi stepped out of his bulletproof Hongqi sedan, Biden greeted the smiling Chinese president with a handshake and said: “Welcome.”
The two then proceeded to pose briefly for photos before heading into their meeting hall, where they were greeted by US officials including the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, the US’s special climate envoy, John Kerry, and the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Addressing Xi, Biden said:
Mr President, we’ve known each other for a long time. We haven’t always agreed, which [does] not surprise anyone but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful … I value our conversation because I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader with no misconceptions or miscommunication …
We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. And we also have to manage it responsibly … That’s what the United States wants and what we intend to do … I also believe it’s what the world wants for both of us …
We also have the responsibility to our people and the world to work together when we see it in our interest to do so. Critical global challenges we face, from climate change to counter-narcotics to artificial intelligence, demand our joint efforts.
Addressing Biden, Xi said:
The China-US relationship, which is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, should be perceived and envisioned in a broad context of the accelerating global transformations … It should develop in a way that benefits our two peoples and fulfils our responsibility for human progress.
The China-US relationship has never been smooth sailing over the past 50 years or more, and it always faces problems of one kind or another. Yet it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns. For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option …
Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed … As long as [China and the US] respect each other, co-exist in peace and pursue win-win cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences and find the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other.
Updated
Xi: 'Planet Earth is big enough' for both US and China to succeed
“The China-US relationship, which is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, should be perceived and envisioned in a broad context of the accelerating global transformations,” Xi Jinping told Joe Biden.
The China-US relationship has never been smooth sailing over the past 50 years or more, and it always faces problems of one kind or another. Yet it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns.
For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option …
Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, and one country’s success is an opportunity for the other.
Updated
Biden highlights 'candid, straightforward and useful' US-China meetings
“There’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions,” Joe Biden told Xi Jinping.
Mr. President, we have known each other for a long time. We haven’t always agreed … but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful.
We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. And we also have to manage it responsibly … and work together when we see it in our interest to do so.
Biden went on to mention “critical global challenges”, including climate change, narcotics and artificial intelligence, that the US seeks to address with China.
Updated
Here is video of the moment Joe Biden greeted Xi Jinping in their first face-to-face meeting in a year:
Biden meets China's Xi Jinping pic.twitter.com/jjlRFrOcOd
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 15, 2023
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have made their way into the meeting hall.
They were greeted by officials including the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, the US special climate envoy, John Kerry, as well as the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Updated
Joe Biden greets Xi Jinping as he arrives for bilateral meeting
Xi Jinping has arrived ahead of his bilateral meeting with Joe Biden.
He stepped out of his car and shook hands briefly with Biden before posing for photos.
Updated
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are expected to meet shortly.
Stay tuned as we bring you a live feed of their official greeting.
The San Francisco mayor, London Breed, shared her support for Joe Biden’s initiative to commit more federal funding to curtailing drug trafficking and supporting treatment, in light of the agreement between Biden and Xi aimed at the importation of fentanyl into the US.
From London Breed’s X account:
While cities continue to fight fentanyl with both law enforcement & public health responses, we need more support.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) November 15, 2023
I’m joining @MayorofSeattle and 35 other mayors in support of President @JoeBiden’s call for more federal funding for both trafficking enforcement and treatment. pic.twitter.com/F5mwIooy4K
Updated
Protesters block delegates from getting into summit location, reports say
Delegates from multiple countries were blocked by protesters from entering Wednesday’s summit, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing protesters.
Delegates from Thailand, China, and the Philippines were reportedly prevented from accessing the APEC conference, with protesters preventing attendees by forming a blockade.
Protesters also blocked a motorcade of 10 vehicles, with police officers in riot gear standing by.
A motorcade of about 10 vehicles is stopped outside the barricade unable to move forward. Via @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/nA1AuF8iX0
— Aldo Toledo (@aldot29) November 15, 2023
An organizer with the #No2Apec coalition says protesters were able to block the Thai, Chinese and Filipino delegations from accessing the CEO summit.
— Aldo Toledo (@aldot29) November 15, 2023
Updated
Protesters tried to block people from entering the Apec summit in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday morning, with demonstrators heckling participants and blocking traffic near the gathering.
The protest was organized by the No to Apec Coalition, which is made up of more than a hundred grassroot groups and says it “opposes Apec as a forum for corporations and institutions to push so-called ‘free trade’ to exploit their workers and put the benefits of corporations over the rights of nations and peoples.”
Demonstrators numbered in the hundreds, CBS Bay Area reported.
“Biden, Biden telling lies, you don’t care if the planet dies, some demonstrators chanted, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Protesters gather early on Wednesday morning to heckle and prevent attendees from entering APEC on the second day of the summit in downtown San Francisco.
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) November 15, 2023
📸: @stephenlamphoto https://t.co/lAfGOR56Bf pic.twitter.com/np9SQtzsLz
The San Francisco city blocks where the summit is being held have seen multiple protests ahead of the meeting.
On Tuesday, thousands gathered in the same area to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, denounce Israel’s invasion, and deplore the rising death toll.
And on Sunday, thousands of demonstrators protesting various causes, including corporate profits, environmental abuses, poor working conditions and the Israel-Hamas war, joined forces in a march.
Updated
Ahead of the meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping today in San Francisco, the European Council on Foreign Relations has released the following results from a new global opinion poll conducted in 21 countries:
There is widespread pessimism among citizens of the west. 47% of respondents in the United States are pessimistic about the future of their country.
In contrast, in emerging and rising powers (including China) optimism prevails. Sixty-nine per cent of Chinese respondents are optimistic about their country, and this feeling was also evidenced among 86% of those surveyed in India, 74% in Indonesia and 54% in Russia.
Chinese strength, globally, is most evidenced on economic matters. When asked if they feel closer to the US or China on trade, majorities in Russia (74%), Saudi Arabia (60%), South Africa (60%), Indonesia (53%) and Turkey (50%) selected China. Majorities in Saudi Arabia (64%), South Africa (58%), Brazil (52%), and Turkey (52%) also expressed acceptance for five types of Chinese economic presence in their countries, including ownership of sports teams, newspapers, tech companies and infrastructure.
US leadership on the global stage is still important. If forced to choose, respondents almost everywhere in ECFR’s survey stated that they would prefer to be part of an American bloc rather than cooperating with China and its partners. This was the majority view in South Korea (82%), India (80%), Brazil (66%), South Africa (54%), Turkey (51%) and Saudi Arabia (50%).
Updated
Texas’s Republican representative Troy Nehls has made a comment about the Chinese flags lining the streets of San Francisco ahead of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s meeting today, saying:
“Chinese flags line the streets of Beijing to welcome President Xi Jinping.
Just kidding. This is San Francisco.”
Chinese flags line the streets of Beijing to welcome President Xi Jinping.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) November 15, 2023
Just kidding. This is San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/whwVCTp7HS
The GOP has tweeted the following ahead of Joe Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping later today, citing the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic in February:
“Just this year, China was caught floating a spy balloon across the continental United States. Now Biden is welcoming Xi Jinping, President of China, to California with open arms.”
Just this year, China was caught floating a spy balloon across the continental United States.
— GOP (@GOP) November 15, 2023
Now Biden is welcoming Xi Jinping, President of China, to California with open arms.
Despite the US and China’s joint climate plan being welcomed by experts, the plan lacks specific emission reductions or a commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
The Guardian’s Oliver Milman reports:
The US and China’s decision to rekindle a joint effort to tackle the climate crisis has provided sorely needed momentum ahead of crucial UN climate talks later this month, while still leaving some key questions unresolved around calling an end to the fossil fuel era.
The difficult relationship between the world’s two largest carbon emitters has somewhat thawed over the issue of global heating, with both sides indicating they see it as a shared menace set aside from other tensions around trade or the status of Taiwan. The US and China are “alarmed” by the state of “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and will work to resolve it despite other differences, as the countries’ joint statement on Tuesday put it.
The breakthrough has been welcomed by climate experts who point out that little can be done to stem the unfolding climate crisis without strong action from both China and the US, which together are responsible for nearly 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Climate talks have been on hold for more than a year but are set to be on the agenda, among more contentious issues, as Joe Biden meets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping, in California on Wednesday.
For the full story, click here:
Here are some images of San Francisco as city officials prepare for the Apec summit with Xi Jinping and other world leaders:
Updated
Biden and Xi to announce fentanyl crackdown deal
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are set to announce a deal to crack down on fentanyl export as the US grapples with a worsening opioid overdose epidemic.
The Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are set to announce an agreement for China to crack down on the manufacture and export of fentanyl, the primary culprit in a synthetic drug epidemic blamed as the leading killer of Americans between 18 and 49.
Bloomberg reported that under the deal – which the US and Chinese presidents are still finalizing – China would go after chemical companies to halt the flow of fentanyl and the source material used to make it.
In return, Biden’s White House would lift restrictions on China’s forensic police institute. China had long questioned why the US would expect cooperation in the battle against fentanyl when the US government had placed restrictions on the institute.
Last year the US reported 110,000 overdose deaths from synthetic drugs, with more than two-thirds linked to fentanyl, a potent opioid.
Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and is increasingly mixed with other illicit drugs, often with lethal results. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said that fentanyl largely comes to the US from China, through drug cartels in Mexico.
Authorities say fentanyl can be created and distributed more easily than plant-based illicit drugs, which required large-scale enterprises to cultivate and market.
The fentanyl announcement is scheduled for Wednesday when the two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in San Francisco. The White House did not respond to request for comment on the deal.
For the full story, click here:
Updated
Utah’s Republican senator Mitt Romney has released a statement ahead of Joe Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping today, urging the Biden administration to be “clear-eyed in its understanding of China’s nefarious economic intentions”.
In his statement, Romney said:
“Our government cannot continue to chase China with offers of concessions without concrete action from the Chinese Communist party, especially in instances where they have no interest in making meaningful changes to their own behavior in the first place.”
My statement ahead of President Biden's meeting with Xi Jinping: pic.twitter.com/IzCQb863KV
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) November 15, 2023
Updated
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, diverted from a question yesterday during a White House press briefing on whether Joe Biden agrees “it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco and pay taxes every day”.
“I completely reject the premise of your question,” Sullivan told the reporter.
FBN's @Hillary__Vaughn: “But Governor Gavin Newsom said of the cleanup this, “ I know folks are saying, ‘oh, they're just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town. That's true.’ Does President Biden agree it's more important to impress the leader… pic.twitter.com/vSR8hrZUq6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 13, 2023
Updated
Newsom: cleanup of homeless encampments motivated by Xi visit
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, admitted that the cleanup of multiple homeless encampments throughout San Francisco was motivated by the visit of Xi Jinping and other world leaders ahead of the Apec summit.
Speaking to reporters last week, Newsom said:
“I know folks are saying, ‘Oh they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town.’ That’s true because it’s true, but it’s also true for months and months and months prior to APEC we’ve been having conversations.”
New-streets: San Francisco, California receives extensive cleanup of it’s streets ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2023 Summit.
— Breaking 4 News (@Breaking_4_News) November 14, 2023
Governor Gavin Newsom, to the disappointment of Californians, admitted that the deep clean was political. pic.twitter.com/uiPsPGsY9N
Updated
Alaska’s Republican senator Dan Sullivan has released a message to Joe Biden ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping later today, saying:
“Mr. President, respectfully, when you meet Xi Jinping tomorrow, no kowtowing. Some of your cabinet members have not gotten that memo… The United States is in the power position in this relationship. Do not give that up.”
My message to President Biden as he meets tomorrow with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping: No kowtowing.
— Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) November 14, 2023
The United States is in the power position in this relationship. Do not give that up. pic.twitter.com/ElK3Dn1wdY
Here are some images of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s separate arrivals to San Francisco ahead of their bilateral meeting on Wednesday:
Updated
China and US pledge to fight climate crisis ahead of summit
With the US and China pledging on Tuesday to cooperate more closely to fight climate change, both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
The Guardian’s Amy Hawkins reports:
One of the most notable features in the climate statement was that both countries would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions (NDCs) across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2. China has previously resisted the idea of specifying which parts of the economy would be covered by its climate pledges.
Li Shuo, the incoming director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute, said the language of “economy-wide” NDCs “implies a pretty stringent framework” that “will help enhance the transparency of China’s emissions”, a goal that the US has long pushed for.
The US and Chinese climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, had met this month at the Sunnylands resort in California in an attempt to restart stalled cooperation. Experts agree that keeping the Paris goals in reach will require an enormous collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade.
For further details, click here:
Updated
Biden to meet with Xi in San Francisco, first in-person meeting in a year
Joe Biden is set to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping today in San Francisco – the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in a year.
The summit, which marks Xi’s first visit to the US in six years, has been widely regarded by US and Chinese officials as an opportunity for the two leaders to ease tensions amid a precarious geopolitical climate involving the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
Over the years, tensions surrounding trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan has deteriorated US-China relations. Following the then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year, which triggered outrage from China, military dialogues between the two countries have been largely suspended.
In addition to issues surrounding trade, human rights and Taiwan, the two leaders are also widely expected to discuss climate agreements. In a statement released alongside China on Tuesday, the state department said that the US and China “reaffirm their commitment to work jointly and together with other countries to address the climate crisis”.
Another major potential talking point between the two leaders is the control of the fentanyl pipeline from China to the US which has resulted in an opioid overdose epidemic across the US.
Here’s the timeline for Biden and Xi’s meeting today:
Biden and Xi’s bilateral meeting is due to start at 2pm ET and is expected to last at least four hours.
Biden is expected to hold a press conference at 7.15pm ET.
The Bidens will then host a welcome reception for Apec leaders in San Francisco.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI director Christopher Wray is set to testify before a homeland security subcomittee on worldwide threats, Politco reports.
House speaker Mike Johnson has called the separation of church and state a “misnomer,” telling CNBC on Tuesday that “people misunderstand it.”
Updated
