US, Chinese leaders to tackle global stability, military cooperation at APEC summit

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, on November 16. 

A senior US administration official confirmed the meeting during an online briefing for journalists, Caliber.Az reports referencing foreign media.

"On November 16, President Biden will meet with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping on the margins of the APEC 2024 Summit in Lima, Peru," the official stated.

This will mark the third in-person meeting between the two leaders since Biden assumed office in January 2021. Previous discussions took place in 2022 on the Indonesian island of Bali during the G20 summit and in 2023 near San Francisco, California, during the APEC summit. The briefing host emphasized that Biden and Xi have known each other personally for "more than a decade" and have spent "many hours meeting together." "We expect this will be their last meeting as presidents," the US official added.

The senior US official outlined that Biden would use the opportunity to summarize efforts to "manage competition responsibly" over the past four years. The official added, "Despite deep divisions and intense competition, President Biden has emphasized throughout his tenure the importance of responsibly managing one of the most significant relationships in the world." The official noted that the Biden administration had successfully managed differences with China, preventing competition from escalating into conflict or direct confrontation.

During the talks, Biden is also expected to highlight the progress made since the previous bilateral meeting in November 2023 near San Francisco. The official particularly pointed out the re-establishment of contacts between the US and Chinese militaries and the resumption of defence policy coordination talks in January 2024. "These discussions are important to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations," the official said, adding, "For the first time in 2024, both sides have given each other advance notice of ICBM launches."

In addition, Biden and Xi are expected to discuss concerns about China's support for Russia and the involvement of North Korean (DPRK) troops in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"President [Biden] intends to use this meeting to discuss areas of [bilateral] disagreement and how to manage those disagreements in the period ahead," the US official noted. "I expect the President to express deep concern about the PRC's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, as well as the deployment of more than 10,000 DPRK troops to Russia, where they have begun to engage in combat alongside Russian troops. We are increasingly concerned about the implications of this deployment for long-term stability in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region," the official explained.

With Biden's term set to expire early next year, the upcoming meeting will be one of his final diplomatic engagements with Xi. Republican Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election on November 5, 2024, will be inaugurated as the next president on January 20, 2025.

By Tamilla Hasanova