Stand and deliverable
The Xi-Biden meeting is shaping up to be meatier than we thought.
On Tuesday, Xi Jinping touched down in San Francisco – his first visit to the US since 2017 – to attend the APEC summit and a much-anticipated meeting with US President Joe Biden.
To paraphrase Biden’s own immortal words, this is a big freakin’ deal.
- After sinking to near-historic lows, US-China relations have shown sustained improvement in recent months.
According to preliminary reports, we can expect a few important deliverables from the meeting:
- The pair are poised to announce a ban on the use of AI-controlled autonomous drones and nuclear warheads (SCMP 1).
- China has reportedly also agreed to crack down on the export of fentanyl precursor chemicals, with Xi and Biden set to finalize the deal (FT).
- The pair are also expected to announce the resumption of military-to-military dialogue, which has been stalled since August 2022 (AP).
Get smart: If these deliverables come through as reported, it would represent a massive breakthrough in US-China ties, suggesting both sides are serious about stabilizing the relationship.
Get smarter: Plenty can still go wrong, but a successful summit could pave the way for a less volatile, more pragmatic relationship.
- That would be good news for just about everybody.