Future of US-China ties maybe hinges on Biden-Xi Wednesday summit
Is the West appeasing China to stay out of Mideast conflict amid Israeli onslaught on Gaza?ALBAWABA – United States (US) President Joe Biden will push China’s President Xi Jinping to resume military US-China ties when they meet in San Francisco this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
The presidents will meet for the first time in about a year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, to launch Tuesday, and the second since Biden took office in January 2021.
Leaders from 21 nations are scheduled to attend APEC this year, according to Reuters, which will run through October 17.
US-China ties: Military-to-military relations
"The president is determined to see the re-establishment of military-to-military ties because he believes it's in the U.S. national security interest," Sullivan said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation."
President Joe Biden confers with his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during a roundtable with Jewish community leaders in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building October 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. Sullivan announced Sunday that Biden will push for resuming military US-China ties. (Photo by Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
"We need those lines of communication so that there aren't mistakes or miscalculations or miscommunication," he added.
Sullivan said restored military ties could take place at every level from senior leadership to the tactical operational level, as well "on the water and in the air in the Indo-Pacific."
On CNN's "State of the Union" he said that Biden would seek to "advance the ball" on military ties during his meeting with Xi, but declined to provide further details.
"The Chinese have basically severed those communication links. President Biden would like to re-establish that," Sullivan said. "This is a top agenda item."
The Biden-Xi meeting is expected to cover global issues. From the Israeli onslaught on Gaza to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's ties with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl production, artificial intelligence, as well as "fair" trade and economic relations, a senior U.S. official said.
APEC has become a stage for strategic competition between the US and China, the world's two largest economies, and all eyes will be on a bilateral summit scheduled for Wednesday.
