Woodside, California
CNN
—
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to take steps to curb fentanyl production and restore military communication during their summit Wednesday, a senior US official told CNN.
The results, which were expected ahead of the talks, amount to progress in improving the still-tense US-China relationship. But they stopped short of a joint statement or other declaration of cooperation.
During the high-stakes summit, which wrapped up after roughly four hours, Biden made clear China should lean on Iran to avoid steps that would aggravate the tense situation in the Middle East. The leaders also made clear they wanted to stabilize their countries’ relationship after months of heightened tension.
Biden had aimed to use the meeting to put the US-China relationship on steadier footing after months of tension between the two superpowers.
Ahead of the talks, US officials were careful to manage expectations, saying they did not expect a long list of outcomes or even a joint leaders’ statement, as is customary following summits between leaders. The primary objective for the talks appeared to be the restoration of channels of communication, principally through the military, to avoid the type of miscommunication or miscalculation US officials fear could lead to open conflict.
The senior US official said China agreed to go after companies who produce precursor chemicals to fentanyl, the powerful narcotic that has fueled a drug crisis in the United States. The US will watch closely to see if China follows up on the commitments made in the summit.
Xi also agreed to mechanisms that would address potential military miscalculations, and agreed to forums for the two sides to present their concerns.
Senior administration officials said leading up to Wednesday’s summit that their Chinese counterparts had been “reluctant” over the past few months to agree to re-establishing military-to-military communications.
But it was an issue that President Biden himself and his top advisers like Blinken, Jake Sullivan and Lloyd Austin raised in “nearly every conversation we’ve had with the Chinese,” as the US tried to underscore that it was “absolutely critical” that this channel be re-opened.
US officials said that the Chinese spy balloon incident, in particular, underscored the importance of military-to-military communications.
The atmospherics surrounding the summit matched the high-stakes moment. The precise location of the meeting in the Bay Area – a historic estate south of San Francisco – was only divulged a few hours ahead of time for security reasons. And US officials said they’d spent hours in discussions with their Chinese counterparts about the choreography of how the meeting would unfold.
Despite a deep and apparently warm personal relationship cultivated during their time as vice presidents – Biden wished Xi’s wife a happy birthday at one point during the summit, with the Chinese leader thanking him for the reminder – the two men have overseen a deterioration in US-China relations to the lowest level in decades.
The talks in California were “very direct” and included more back-and-forth discussion between the two men than their meeting a year ago, a senior US official said. The US president was “very direct” with Xi on a number of topics, the official said, while Xi also raised his concerns about rhetoric inside the United States about China.
At one point, Xi told Biden he believed there was unfair negative publicity about the Chinese Communist Party in the United States.
In one exchange about restrictions the US has applied on technology exports to China, Xi likened the steps to “technological containment.” Biden responded directly to say the US was not going to provide technology to China that could be used militarily against it.
Biden also raised direct concerns to Xi about harassment of American businesses in China, the official said.
The two men discussed artificial intelligence, and agreed to work together moving ahead on the new technology.
And Biden told Xi it was important China be more transparent on nuclear issues, as it rapidly expands its arsenal.
Biden did not “pull any punches,” the official said, noting Xi experiences little pushback within the Chinese system.
Biden was “respectful” but “clear.”
With conflicts raging in the Middle East and Europe as he prepares to fight for reelection, Biden hoped to prevent another crisis from exploding on his watch. He was not only looking to demonstrate to Americans – but also to Xi directly – why an improved relationship with Beijing is in everyone’s interests.
“I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication,” Biden told Xi as their talks got underway in a secluded estate south of San Francisco.
Speaking afterward, Xi offered his own view of the complex moment in US-China ties.
“Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed,” he said.
The optics of the summit were carefully negotiated between the two sides and the formal welcome to the estate was highly choreographed. As host of the meeting, Biden walked out of the building first to welcome Xi. A red carpet had been rolled out, with Marine guards and flags from both countries. The Chinese president’s black sedan pulled up and stopped at the end of the carpet. Xi emerged with a smile and the two men shook hands, each grasping the others’ wrists.
As the meeting got underway, Biden told Xi it is essential the two men have a frank understanding of each other.
Biden said the leaders had a responsibility to their populations to work together, including on issues of climate change, countering narcotics trafficking and approaching artificial intelligence. He added competition between US and China could not tilt toward conflict.
“As always, there is no substitute to face-to-face discussions. I’ve always found our discussions straightforward and frank,” Biden said.
Speaking after Biden, Xi offered starker view of US-China ties.
“The China-US relationship has never been smooth sailing over the past 50 years and more, and it always faces problems of one kind or another. Yet it has kept moving forward amidst twists and turns,” he said through a translator.
“For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,” he went on. “It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other and conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides.”
Seeming to reject Biden’s view of “competition” between the US and China, Xi said he was “still of the view that major country competition is not the prevailing trend of current times and cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States or the world at large.”
For the better part of the last year, US officials have been laying the groundwork for this week’s Biden-Xi summit. With the aim of reestablishing diplomatic channels between the two countries, national security adviser Jake Sullivan has met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi three times, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US climate envoy John Kerry have all traveled to Beijing.
The overtures have been extended in the other direction too, with China’s senior-most officials – including its foreign minister – traveling to the US to meet with their American counterparts. US officials said that working-level consultations had been established with Beijing on especially sensitive topics like arms control and maritime issues.
Sources familiar with those efforts say that Washington has seen signs in recent months that the Chinese are beginning to accept the wisdom of both countries working together to strengthen their lines of communication and mitigate misunderstandings.
Still, as Biden was preparing for Wednesday’s summit, Republicans questioned his decision to seek a meeting with Xi. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor seeking the GOP presidential nomination, claimed Biden had “begged” for the meeting.
Republicans on a House select committee on China sent Biden a letter spelling out areas they believe he must challenge Xi, including wrongful detention of Americans and the production of fentanyl.
Biden and his aides are acutely aware of the political backdrop for his meeting. Sullivan said Biden was “looking for … practical ways to show the American people that sitting down with Xi Jinping can defend American interests and also deliver progress on the priorities of the American people.”
To that end, US officials were finalizing an agreement with China to crack down on the export of the source chemicals used to make fentanyl ahead of the Biden-Xi talks.
The deal, which has been a priority for the Biden administration, would target companies that produce and export the source material to make the deadly synthetic opioid. The goal would be to significantly limit the flow of precursor materials to Mexico, the people said.
It could also mark an important domestic political win for Biden, whose administration has grappled with trafficking of lethal illicit drugs like fentanyl in an ongoing crisis at the southern border that has weighed down his administration.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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