Biden to meet with Xi in San Francisco, first in-person meeting in a yearJoe Biden is set to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping today in San Francisco – the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in a year.
The summit, which marks Xi’s first visit to the US in six years, has been widely regarded by US and Chinese officials as an opportunity for the two leaders to ease tensions amid a precarious geopolitical climate involving the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
Over the years, tensions surrounding trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan has deteriorated US-China relations. Following the then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year, which triggered outrage from China, military dialogues between the two countries have been largely suspended.
In addition to issues surrounding trade, human rights and Taiwan, the two leaders are also widely expected to discuss climate agreements. In a statement released alongside China on Tuesday, the state department said that the US and China “reaffirm their commitment to work jointly and together with other countries to address the climate crisis”.
Another major potential talking point between the two leaders is the control of the fentanyl pipeline from China to the US which has resulted in an opioid overdose epidemic across the US.
Here’s the timeline for Biden and Xi’s meeting today:
Biden and Xi’s bilateral meeting is due to start at 2pm ET and is expected to last at least four hours.
Biden is expected to hold a press conference at 7.15pm ET.
The Bidens will then host a welcome reception for Apec leaders in San Francisco.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI director Christopher Wray is set to testify before a homeland security subcomittee on worldwide threats, Politco reports.
House speaker Mike Johnson has called the separation of church and state a “misnomer,” telling CNBC on Tuesday that “people misunderstand it.”
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Despite the US and China’s joint climate plan being welcomed by experts, the plan lacks specific emission reductions or a commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
The Guardian’s Oliver Milman reports:
The US and China’s decision to rekindle a joint effort to tackle the climate crisis has provided sorely needed momentum ahead of crucial UN climate talks later this month, while still leaving some key questions unresolved around calling an end to the fossil fuel era.
The difficult relationship between the world’s two largest carbon emitters has somewhat thawed over the issue of global heating, with both sides indicating they see it as a shared menace set aside from other tensions around trade or the status of Taiwan. The US and China are “alarmed” by the state of “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and will work to resolve it despite other differences, as the countries’ joint statement on Tuesday put it.
The breakthrough has been welcomed by climate experts who point out that little can be done to stem the unfolding climate crisis without strong action from both China and the US, which together are responsible for nearly 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Climate talks have been on hold for more than a year but are set to be on the agenda, among more contentious issues, as Joe Biden meets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping, in California on Wednesday.
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Here are some images of San Francisco as city officials prepare for the Apec summit with Xi Jinping and other world leaders:
San Francisco’s Market Street lit up with laser light show for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) global trade summit which takes place through November 17, in San Francisco, California, United States on November 13, 2023. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty ImagesAPEC Ministerial Meeting Dinner at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders Week (AELW) at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Photograph: Mike Lawrence/U S Department of State/UPI/ShutterstockSupporters await the arrival of China’s President Xi Jinping next to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit headquarters in San Francisco, California on November 14, 2023. The APEC Summit takes place through November 17. Photograph: Jason Henry/AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters hold banners during a rally in opposition to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 15, 2023. Photograph: Loren Elliott/ReutersProtesters carry a banner during a rally in opposition to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 15, 2023. Photograph: Loren Elliott/ReutersBiden and Xi to announce fentanyl crackdown dealJoe Biden and Xi Jinping are set to announce a deal to crack down on fentanyl export as the US grapples with a worsening opioid overdose epidemic.
The Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are set to announce an agreement for China to crack down on the manufacture and export of fentanyl, the primary culprit in a synthetic drug epidemic blamed as the leading killer of Americans between 18 and 49.
Bloomberg reported that under the deal – which the US and Chinese presidents are still finalizing – China would go after chemical companies to halt the flow of fentanyl and the source material used to make it.
In return, Biden’s White House would lift restrictions on China’s forensic police institute. China had long questioned why the US would expect cooperation in the battle against fentanyl when the US government had placed restrictions on the institute.
Last year the US reported 110,000 overdose deaths from synthetic drugs, with more than two-thirds linked to fentanyl, a potent opioid.
Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and is increasingly mixed with other illicit drugs, often with lethal results. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said that fentanyl largely comes to the US from China, through drug cartels in Mexico.
Authorities say fentanyl can be created and distributed more easily than plant-based illicit drugs, which required large-scale enterprises to cultivate and market.
The fentanyl announcement is scheduled for Wednesday when the two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in San Francisco. The White House did not respond to request for comment on the deal.
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Utah’s Republican senator Mitt Romney has released a statement ahead of Joe Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping today, urging the Biden administration to be “clear-eyed in its understanding of China’s nefarious economic intentions.”
In his statement, Romney said:
“Our government cannot continue to chase China with offers of concessions without concrete action from the Chinese Communist party, especially in instances where they have no interest in making meaningful changes to their own behavior in the first place.”
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan diverted from a question yesterday during a White House press briefing on whether Joe Biden agrees “it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco and pay taxes every day.”
“I completely reject the premise of your question,” Sullivan told the reporter.
FBN’s @Hillary__Vaughn: “But Governor Gavin Newsom said of the cleanup this, “ I know folks are saying, ‘oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town. That’s true.’ Does President Biden agree it’s more important to impress the leader… pic.twitter.com/vSR8hrZUq6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 13, 2023Newsom: cleanup of homeless encampments motivated by Xi visitCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom admitted that the cleanup of multiple homeless encampments throughout San Francisco was motivated by the visit of Xi Jinping and other world leaders ahead of the Apec summit.
Speaking to reporters last week, Newsom said:
“I know folks are saying, ‘Oh they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town.’ That’s true because it’s true, but it’s also true for months and months and months prior to APEC we’ve been having conversations.”
New-streets: San Francisco, California receives extensive cleanup of it’s streets ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2023 Summit.
Governor Gavin Newsom, to the disappointment of Californians, admitted that the deep clean was political. pic.twitter.com/uiPsPGsY9N
— Breaking 4 News (@Breaking_4_News) November 14, 2023 Alaska’s Republican senator Dan Sullivan has released a message to Joe Biden ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping later today, saying:
“Mr. President, respectfully, when you meet Xi Jinping tomorrow, no kowtowing. Some of your cabinet members have not gotten that memo… The United States is in the power position in this relationship. Do not give that up.”
My message to President Biden as he meets tomorrow with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping: No kowtowing.
The United States is in the power position in this relationship. Do not give that up. pic.twitter.com/ElK3Dn1wdY
— Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) November 14, 2023 Here are some images of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s separate arrivals to San Francisco ahead of their bilateral meeting on Wednesday:
Joe Biden with Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesXi Jinping arrives in San Francisco. Photograph: Xinhua/ShutterstockChinese and American flags on display. Photograph: Mark R Cristino/EPAChina and US pledge to fight climate crisis ahead of summitWith the US and China pledging on Tuesday to cooperate more closely to fight climate change, both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
The Guardian’s Amy Hawkins reports:
One of the most notable features in the climate statement was that both countries would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions (NDCs) across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2. China has previously resisted the idea of specifying which parts of the economy would be covered by its climate pledges.
Li Shuo, the incoming director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute, said the language of “economy-wide” NDCs “implies a pretty stringent framework” that “will help enhance the transparency of China’s emissions”, a goal that the US has long pushed for.
The US and Chinese climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, had met this month at the Sunnylands resort in California in an attempt to restart stalled cooperation. Experts agree that keeping the Paris goals in reach will require an enormous collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade.
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Biden to meet with Xi in San Francisco, first in-person meeting in a yearJoe Biden is set to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping today in San Francisco – the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in a year.
The summit, which marks Xi’s first visit to the US in six years, has been widely regarded by US and Chinese officials as an opportunity for the two leaders to ease tensions amid a precarious geopolitical climate involving the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
Over the years, tensions surrounding trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan has deteriorated US-China relations. Following the then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year, which triggered outrage from China, military dialogues between the two countries have been largely suspended.
In addition to issues surrounding trade, human rights and Taiwan, the two leaders are also widely expected to discuss climate agreements. In a statement released alongside China on Tuesday, the state department said that the US and China “reaffirm their commitment to work jointly and together with other countries to address the climate crisis”.
Another major potential talking point between the two leaders is the control of the fentanyl pipeline from China to the US which has resulted in an opioid overdose epidemic across the US.
Here’s the timeline for Biden and Xi’s meeting today:
Biden and Xi’s bilateral meeting is due to start at 2pm ET and is expected to last at least four hours.
Biden is expected to hold a press conference at 7.15pm ET.
The Bidens will then host a welcome reception for Apec leaders in San Francisco.
Here are other developments in US politics:
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI director Christopher Wray is set to testify before a homeland security subcomittee on worldwide threats, Politco reports.
House speaker Mike Johnson has called the separation of church and state a “misnomer,” telling CNBC on Tuesday that “people misunderstand it.”