On the afternoon of November 14, local time, President Xi Jinping held a meeting with US President Biden in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
On the afternoon of November 14, local time, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with US President Biden in Bali, Indonesia.
The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States in the nearly three years since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state since Biden became president, and a meeting that attracted global attention. Some details also show that this China-US summit meeting is unusual.
The meeting took place at the premises of the Chinese delegation
The meeting took place at the premises of the Chinese delegation.
The reason why China and the United States agreed to hold a meeting at the location of the Chinese delegation is that the meeting between the two heads of state in Bali was initiated by the United States. This is in line with diplomatic etiquette.
As early as the end of August, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made it clear that he would promote the holding of the Sino-US leaders' meeting.
In early August, in response to US House Speaker Pelosi's insistence on visiting China's Taiwan region despite China's strong opposition, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced eight countermeasures. Since then, the United States has repeatedly said that "the United States and China are engaged in fierce competition, but competition should not be allowed to turn into conflict or confrontation."
However, as the day of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, approaches, whether the China-US summit will be held has also become the content of the regular Q&A at the press conference of the US State Department and the White House National Security Council.
On November 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference that China attaches importance to the proposal put forward by the United States that the two heads of state hold a meeting in Bali, and the two sides are maintaining communication on this issue. At this point, the meeting between the Chinese and US heads of state in Bali is basically confirmed.
Despite the twists and turns, it is worth noting that the venue of the meeting was not chosen in the G20 venue or other "neutral" venues, and to some extent, it can be said that this meeting amounts to China's quasi-home diplomacy.
On the afternoon of November 14, local time, President Xi Jinping arrived at Nuralei International Airport in Bali, Indonesia, by special plane and was invited to attend the 17th G20 Summit of Leaders. This is Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan stepping out of the cabin door. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
The duration of the meeting was more than three hours
Another notable detail is the timing and duration of the meeting.
The arrangement of the China-US summit, which took place the day before the G20 summit, indicates that the meeting was not planned to be achieved through brief talks in multilateral forums from the beginning, but to dedicate time for in-depth exchanges on Sino-US relations and other major issues.
This also shows that holding a summit meeting between China and the United States is also one of the main goals of Biden's participation in the G20 summit.
The length of the meeting also attests to this. According to the arrangement between the two countries, the meeting will be held from 17:30 pm local time on the 14th. The Biden team arrived at the Chinese delegation ahead of schedule, and then the two sides began to meet. The end time was 20:48, which lasted more than 3 hours.
In contrast, the summit meeting between the United States, Japan and South Korea held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on the 13th lasted only one and a half hours. At the end of June, during the NATO summit, the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea met separately, and although this was the second trilateral meeting between the three countries after nearly five years, the meeting lasted only 25 minutes.
In fact, high-level talks between China and the United States are very long. The video meeting between the heads of China and the United States on November 16, 2021, lasted more than three hours; On March 18 this year, the video call between the first Chinese and US dollars lasted 110 minutes; On July 28, the first conference call between China and the United States was 137 minutes long.
The length of exchanges and meetings between the Chinese and US heads of state has played a role in guiding the rudder for determining the tone of Sino-US relations.
Summit logos and decorations outside a summit venue photographed in Bali, Indonesia, November 11. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
International media and social platforms are highly concerned
The holding of the China-US summit has received extensive attention from international media and social platforms.
During the meeting, "China" once rushed to the top of the US Trends list on US social media, and related topics such as "Bali" also appeared on the list. Most international mainstream media have also reported on the China-US summit in a prominent position.
This proves once again that Sino-US relations are a topic of global concern.
It is also worth noting that although the China-US summit was initiated by the United States, the definition of the relationship between the two countries by the United States is still limited to the "guardrail theory", which Biden and US National Security Adviser Sullivan both called "the United States and China are engaged in fierce competition, but this competition should not fall into conflict or confrontation."
China's tone for Sino-US relations is both objective and more strategic.
On the one hand, with regard to the current situation of China-US relations, China believes that "the situation facing Sino-US relations is not in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples, nor does it meet the expectations of the international community", on the other hand, China believes that China-US relations should be promoted to "upward".
Indeed, the whole world is concerned about how Sino-US relations develop. Biden also said that "the world expects the United States and China to play a key role in solving global problems." Actions speak louder than words, and for Sino-US relations to return to the path of healthy development, the US side also needs to have a more strategic vision in understanding and show more sincerity in action.
Written by / Lifan Xu (Columnist)
Editor / Liu Yunyun
Proofreading / Chen Diyan