Biden-Xi Summit Is Major Improvement in U.S.-China Relations, Asserts Wang Yi

Nov. 16, 2022 (EIRNS)—The meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping represented a clear breakthrough in the deteriorating U.S.-China relationship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in a briefing on Nov. 15.

Given that the meeting was the first face-to-face of the two leaders and their first meeting aßfter they had completed their respective domestic agendas this year, he remarked,

“the Bali meeting is not only a continuation of their past exchanges, but also the signal of a new starting point. The meetings lasted more than three hours even with simultaneous interpretation, longer than scheduled. The exchanges are comprehensive, profound, and candid, as well as constructive and of strategic importance.”

He further described that it also “covered the most important aspects of the bilateral relations and the most pressing regional and global issues at the moment.” He expressed that “Head-of-state diplomacy is the compass and anchor of China-U.S. relations, and it plays an irreplaceable strategic role in guiding the growth of the relationship.” Most importantly, the meeting established a strategic framework of U.S.-China relations. This framework has still to be worked out and both leaders instructed their teams to follow up with consultations and “strive for an agreement as soon as possible on the basis of the common understandings already in place.” For this purpose, Biden has assigned Secretary of State Blinken to travel to Beijing for talks on this matter.

“The meeting kicked off a process, i.e., implementing the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state to manage and stabilize China-U.S. relations,” Wang said.