Biden, Xi will meet in Peru as US-China relations tested again by Trump's return

President Joe Biden will hold talks Saturday with Chinas Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an international summit in Peru a facetoface meeting that comes as Beijing braces for Donald Trumps return to the White House White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting will take place while the two leaders are in Lima for the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation summit That will come just over two months before Trumps inaugurationSullivan was opaque about how Biden and administration officials will answer expected questions from Xi and his aides about the incoming Trump administration Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics Theyre a time when competitors and adversaries can see possibly opportunity Sullivan said And so part of what President Biden will communicate is that we need to maintain stability clarity predictability through this transition between the United States and ChinaDuring his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris Trump promised to slap blanket 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese exports to the US a move that would jolt the already tumultuous relationship between Beijing and WashingtonWashington and Beijing have long had deep differences on the support China has given to Russia during its war in Ukraine human rights issues technology and Taiwan the selfruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own A second Trump administration is expected to test USChina relations even more than the Republicans first term when the US imposed tariffs on more than USD 360 billion in Chinese productsThat brought Beijing to the negotiating table and in 2020 the two sides signed a trade deal in which China committed to improve intellectual property rights and buy an extra USD 200 billion of American goods A couple of years later a research group showed that China had bought essentially none of the goods it had promisedThe White House has been working for months to arrange a final meeting between Xi and Biden before the Democrat leaves office in January Sullivan traveled to Beijing in late August to meet with his Chinese counterpart and also sat down with Xi After that Sullivan indicated that there could be a final meeting between Xi and Biden at APEC or at next weeks summit of the Group of 20 top economies in Rio de Janeiro which both leaders are scheduled to attendBiden has sought to maintain a steady relationship with Xi even as his administration repeatedly has raised concerns about what it sees as malign actions by Beijing US intelligence officials have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles tanks aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine The administration last month imposed sanctions against two Chinese companies accused of directly helping Russia build longrange attack drones used against UkraineTensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States And the Biden administration has criticized Chinese military assertiveness toward Japan the Philippines and Taiwan On the campaign trail Trump spoke of his personal connection with Xi which started out well during his first term before becoming strained over disputes about trade and the origins of the COVID19 pandemicIn a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Harris Xi called for the US and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era according to Chinese state media Biden for his part is expected in the meeting with Xi to focus on efforts to stem the flow of Chinesemanufactured chemicals used to make fentanyl concerns about Beijings indirect support for Russias war in Ukraine cybersecurity concerns and the importance of maintaining militarytomilitary communicationsSullivan added that he expected that Biden would also raise an ongoing US investigation into an alleged Chinese hacker operation targeting cellphones used by Trump Vice Presidentelect JD Vance and people associated with the Harris campaign Saturdays talks will be the third meeting between Biden and Xi during Bidens presidency They met in Woodside California last November on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC summit and the leaders last spoke by phone in AprilSullivan also announced that Biden while at APEC will hold a joint meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japans new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba That meeting is a followup on the historic Camp David summit Biden hosted in August 2023 with Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio KishidaBiden has nudged the United States two closest Asian allies to further tighten security and economic cooperation with each other amid their shared concerns about North Koreas nuclear provocations as well as Chinas military and economic assertiveness in the Pacific The historic rivals have been divided by differing views of World War II history and Japans colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 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