President Biden to Meet with Chinese President Xi in San Francisco

President Biden is set to meet with Chinese President Xi in San Francisco on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. The meeting aims to manage the relationship between the world's two largest economies.

This will be President Biden's second in-person meeting with Xi since taking office. However, the two leaders have also had virtual conversations, and President Biden had multiple meetings with Xi prior to becoming president. This meeting will mark their first discussion since their last meeting in Nov. 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, according to a senior administration official.

The scheduled time for their meeting is 2 p.m. ET, or 11 a.m. local time. Following the meeting, President Biden will hold a solo press conference.

One of the key goals for the Biden administration in this meeting is the resumption of military communications, which were suspended after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year. Diplomatic lines of communication have remained open.

During a recent interview, President Biden expressed his hopes for a successful meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He emphasized the importance of restoring communication channels and ensuring that both countries can engage in crisis management and maintain military contact. President Biden's remarks come after a Chinese spy balloon crossed into US territory, highlighting the need for effective communication between the two nations.

A senior administration official acknowledged the lack of communication capabilities during the incident with the Chinese spy balloon. They expressed the hope that preliminary steps could be taken to address this issue. The official also highlighted the concentration of power in President Xi's hands and emphasized the importance of top-level diplomacy to affect change in the Chinese system.

According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, meetings between leaders of countries like the US and China involve extensive discussions about the agenda. President Biden and President Xi have a longstanding relationship, which allows them to have frank and forthright conversations.

"I think the table's been set, again, over the course of many weeks, for what we hope will be a very productive, candid, constructive conversation here," Kirby said. "... He's not gonna' be afraid to confront where confrontation is needed on certain issues where we don't see eye to eye with President Xi and the PRC, but we're also not gonna' be afraid nor should we be afraid as a confident nation to engage in diplomacy on ways which we can cooperate with China."

Kirby said he has "no doubt" the topic of the Hamas-Israel conflict in the Middle East will come up in the discussion. He also reiterated that the administration doesn't support independence for Taiwan, but the administration still wants to see Taiwan's economy to continue to flourish. 

Broadly, the White House says the administration's goals at the summit are improving and increasing American investment in the Asia-Pacific region and the region's investment in the U.S.; working toward better worker standards and cleaner environments; and building a more inclusive economy across the region. 

"We're not trying to decouple from China," Mr. Biden told reporters Tuesday. "What we're trying to do is change the relationship for the better. From my perspective, if in fact the Chinese people, who are in trouble right now, economically ... if the average citizen in China was able to have a decent paying job, that benefits them and it benefits all of us. But I'm not gonna' continue to sustain the support for positions where if you want to invest in China, we have to turn over all our trade secrets."