• International

Biden meets with China's President Xi

By Kyle Feldscher , Maureen Chowdhury , Kaanita Iyer and Tori B. Powell , CNN

Biden welcomes Xi for summit talks in California

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with President Xi Jinping of China on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

President Joe Biden has welcomed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for their summit in California.

The two men greeted each other warmly outside a Georgian revival-style mansion south of San Francisco where the talks will occur.

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.

Xi's black sedan pulled up and stopped at the end of the carpet. The Chinese leader emerged with a smile and the two men shook hands, each grasping the others' wrists.

The leaders walked inside and didn't answer any questions.

Biden meeting Xi at historic estate south of San Francisco

President Joe Biden is meeting his Chinese counterpart Wednesday at a historic estate south of San Francisco, a person familiar with the planning says, after months of careful planning by officials on both sides.

The estate, built in 1917, features a Georgian mansion and acres of gardens within the coastal range south of the city.

The location wasn't formally announced until the two leaders arrived for their summit talks, and it wasn't disclosed by the White House ahead of time.

White House officials scouted a number of venues, sources said, taking into account security considerations and how much the space could accommodate. But there were more superficial factors at play, too – like the look and feel of the venue, one source said.

GOP presidential candidate Ramaswamy urges Biden to take hardline stance with Xi

From CNN's Aaron Pellish

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy laid out what he said were a list of "basic priorities" for President Joe Biden ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. 

He urged Biden to take a hardline stance with the Chinese leader in a  post  on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Ramaswamy included a "hard commitment" from China to not invade Taiwan and an announcement of "financial accountability over Covid" as among his list of desired outcomes for the meeting.

"We’re not going to play ball unless China plays by the same rules - period," he wrote. 

Biden’s high-stakes meeting with Xi is taking place at a historic estate south of San Francisco, California.

Analysis: Here's Xi’s agenda as the Chinese leader heads to California

From CNN's Simone McCarthy

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at San Francisco International Airport ahead of the APEC summit on November 14, in San Francisco, California.

Xi Jinping is making his first visit to the US  in six years  this week for a highly anticipated summit with US President Joe Biden — where the Chinese leader will likely try to bolster his country’s troubled economy and push back on perceived US efforts to suppress it.

That Xi is even touching down in California for the four-day visit, which includes his attendance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation international forum, is remarkable in itself.

The leaders of the world’s top two economies have not spoken since they  last met on the sidelines  of another international gathering in Bali, Indonesia,   in November 2022.

To arrange this meeting, their governments have had to navigate a number of contentious issues: from the handling of an allegedly  rogue Chinese surveillance balloon  to Beijing’s targeting of  international businesses , and  tit-for-tat restrictions  over high tech.

Expectations for major breakthroughs at this week’s meeting are low.

Xi is arriving in California as he struggles to revive a  faltering Chinese economy  yet to   fully   rebound after his strict pandemic controls were relaxed, with the property market in crisis and record youth unemployment.

The economic woes, combined with the unexplained  removal of two hand-picked officials  at the top of his government, have tarnished the image that Xi projected the last time he met Biden, when he’d just consolidated power and started a norm-shattering third term leading China.

Biden, meanwhile, finds himself strapped with international challenges from the  war in Ukraine  to the latest  conflict in Gaza . Another global flashpoint involving China is the last thing he would want to see, especially as he vies for re-election next year.

“At a time that they both face domestic challenges and foreign policy challenges, there’s less incentive for them to try to go after each other and a bit more incentive for them to stabilize their relationship,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.

Here's what Joe Biden wants to achieve in his meeting with Xi Jinping

From CNN's Kevin Liptak and MJ Lee

From left, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden hopes to walk away from  his closely watched summit  with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday having put the US-China relationship  on steadier footing after months of tension  between the two superpowers.

With conflicts raging in the Middle East and Europe as he prepares to fight for reelection, Biden hopes to prevent another crisis from exploding on his watch. He is not only looking to demonstrate to Americans – but also to Xi directly – why an improved relationship with Beijing is in everyone’s interests.

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.

Instead, the primary objective for the talks appeared to be restoring channels of communication, principally through the military, to avoid the type of miscommunication or miscalculation US officials fear could lead to open conflict.

Biden said ahead of his departure for California that he would define success for the sit-down as getting back on a “normal course” with China. He said that included “corresponding, being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another if there’s a crisis, being able to make sure that our militaries still have contact with one another.”

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.

“Now is precisely the time for high-level diplomacy,” a senior administration official said. “Intense competition requires and demands intense diplomacy to manage tensions and to prevent competition from verging into conflict or confrontation.”

Read more about Biden's meeting with Xi.

McConnell knocks Biden on China policies

From CNN's Ted Barrett

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the Capitol on November 7, in Washington, DC.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was sharply critical of President Joe Biden's efforts to counter China on numerous fronts ahead of the Biden's meeting with Xi Jinping . 

"The stakes of the competition simply cannot be overstated," McConnell said as he cited Chinese advancements in military capabilities and alliances, pursuit of rare minerals critical to supply chain, and aggressive efforts to steal Western technologies.  

"Strategic competition with China is going to determine the course of the next century of American history. And yet, the Biden administration has too often met this historic moment with weakness and naïveté. Time and time again, it has sacrificed competition on the altar of green climate policy," he said.

"In the administration's quest to turn the American automobile industry electric, it has apparently made peace with sending American tax dollars to the Chinese industries that dominate battery making input. In pursuit of grand climate diplomacy, the administration's envoys have been literally laughed out of Beijing by a state that keeps on increasing its carbon emissions and has not plan to start cutting them literally for years," McConnell said.  

He also complained that China is making large increases in military spending each year while the Biden administration's budget request "haven't even kept up with inflation."  

McConnell said Congress can address those shortfalls when it deals with the National Defense Authorization Act and a national security supplemental spending bill in the coming weeks.  

Biden is preparing to discuss Israel and Ukraine wars with Xi

US President Joe Biden, right, and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14, 2022.

When  President Joe Biden meets Chinese President Xi Jinping today for a rare , high-stakes summit, two major wars – the Ukraine-Russia conflict, now deep into its second year, and  the Israel-Hamas war  that has entered its second deadly month –  will serve as the backdrop amid extraordinary global tumult.

Members of the American and Chinese delegations plan to discuss both conflicts in their intensive, multi-hour meetings in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to senior administration officials, and Biden and his national security advisers will seek to convince  their Chinese counterparts it is in Beijing’s interests  to use its leverage with Russia and Iran to keep both wars contained.

The global unrest ratchets up the stakes of Biden’s sit-down with Xi, their first face-to-face meeting in a year.

As Biden confronts two presidency-defining conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, he is eager to improve ties with Beijing and prevent another crisis from exploding on his watch. The US has sought to manage expectations for the talks, pointing to the restoration of military communication and an agreement to  curb narcotics trafficking as top objectives.

Biden told reporters Tuesday that his objective in meeting with Xi will be to normalize communication channels between the two powers. Asked how he defined success for Wednesday’s sit-down, Biden said, “To get back on a normal course.”

He said that included “corresponding, being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another if there’s a crisis, being able to make sure that our militaries still have contact with one another.” American officials have been working to restore military communications with China after Beijing severed them last year.

Among US concerns is the risk for miscalculation or miscommunication that leads to conflict, including in the tense waters around Taiwan and the South China Sea.

"As I told you, we’re not trying to decouple from China,” Biden said Tuesday. “What we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better.”

He cited China’s relative economic weakness and said he was looking to cement a relationship that benefits both countries.

Inside the remarkably intricate planning for Biden’s meeting with Xi

From CNN's MJ Lee and Kevin Liptak

US officials encountered a remarkable – even unprecedented – level of concern from their Beijing counterparts over how Chinese President Xi Jinping would be treated during his brief visit to the United States this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Over months of intricate planning, Chinese officials demonstrated an enormous amount of focus on ensuring every piece of choreography surrounding Xi’s summit with President Joe Biden on Wednesday – down to where Xi would sit and what he might see out of the window at any given moment – would guarantee the Chinese leader was treated with respect, sources familiar with the planning told CNN.

That included the timing and location of the summit, which is occurring amid a larger gathering of Pacific leaders in San Francisco. Instead of meeting in one of the many rooms set aside for bilateral meetings at the cavernous Moscone convention hall, the two men will meet at a separate location outside San Francisco city limits.

Even after confirming that Biden and Xi would meet, administration officials would only describe the location of the summit as the “Bay area,” citing security concerns. The still-to-be-disclosed venue for Wednesday’s summit was kept a secret from even members of the White House press corps traveling with Biden to San Francisco until hours before the meeting. 

White House officials scouted a number of venues, sources said, taking into account security considerations and how much the space could accommodate. But there were more superficial factors at play, too — like the look and feel of the venue, one source said.

Even the flowers, food and drink have been subject to intense discussions between the two sides, which each hope the meeting will result in reduced strain between the US and China.

Read more about what went into the meeting's intricate planning.

Please enable JavaScript for a better experience.

China Brief: Xi Gears Up for Long-Awaited U.S. Trip

Create an FP account to save articles to read later and in the FP mobile app.

ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN

World Brief

  • Editors’ Picks
  • Africa Brief

China Brief

  • Latin America Brief

South Asia Brief

Situation report.

  • Flash Points
  • War in Ukraine
  • Israel and Hamas
  • U.S.-China competition
  • Biden's foreign policy
  • Trade and economics
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Asia & the Pacific
  • Middle East & Africa

Richard Haass on Foreign Policy in an Election Year

Ones and tooze, foreign policy live.

magazine cover image

Winter 2024 Issue

Print Archive

FP Analytics

  • In-depth Special Reports
  • Issue Briefs
  • Power Maps and Interactive Microsites
  • FP Simulations & PeaceGames
  • Graphics Database

Promise Over Peril: Part Five

Her power 2024, fp climate summit 2024, fp global health forum 2024.

By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.

Your guide to the most important world stories of the day

president xi visit

Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent

president xi visit

The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week

Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy

Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day

president xi visit

One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture

president xi visit

Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors

A curated selection of our very best long reads

Xi Gears Up for Long-Awaited U.S. Trip

The chinese leader will meet biden on the sidelines of a san francisco summit in his first visit to the united states since 2017..

  • Foreign & Public Diplomacy
  • United States
  • James Palmer

Welcome to  Foreign Policy ’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: The White House confirms Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States later this month, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant pandas depart Washington, and another Chinese financial executive faces a corruption investigation.

Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday.

Xi’s U.S. Visit Confirmed

The White House has officially confirmed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to the United States since 2017, although the diplomatic details have yet to be hammered out. Xi will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco later this month—a long-anticipated appearance, even if the specifics aren’t yet guaranteed.

The APEC summit starts on Nov. 11, but Xi may fly in later; the leaders’ meeting is on Nov. 17. Given events during Xi’s visit to South Africa in August, where he unexpectedly missed an important speech—perhaps after becoming ill in his travels—the Chinese leader may also build an extra day or two in to his U.S. visit. The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco is already organizing diaspora groups to welcome Xi to the city with fanfare.

Xi will meet U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the APEC summit, which will mark their first time together in person since a relatively amiable meeting in Bali, Indonesia, during the G-20 summit a year ago. The U.S.-China relationship was already bad then, but it suffered in the months afterward—especially during the spy balloon crisis . The Biden administration has since engaged in a lot of diplomatic repair work, with mixed reception in China.

What does each side want out of the Xi-Biden meeting? China’s priority is likely its stumbling economy. Geopolitical tensions manifest in China as xenophobic crackdowns on foreign businesses and in the United States as growing restraints on technology exports to China; the situation has made U.S. firms increasingly wary of doing business in China. That isn’t the main burden on the Chinese economy—a collapsing real estate market and a local government debt crisis are—but any relief helps.

The United States will prioritize security talks, focusing on nuclear arms control and military-to-military communication . U.S. diplomats fear that a more confrontational attitude toward China, including breaking off some channels due to tensions over Taiwan, could lead to a clash neither side wants. The frequency of near-misses both at sea and in the air of late has augmented those concerns, especially given continuing tensions around Philippine naval activity in the South China Sea.

China has an obvious interest in avoiding an accidental war with the United States, but aggressive nationalism is still de rigueur in Chinese military and security circles, and backing down is hard. One working model here for both Beijing and Washington may be China’s restored relationship with Australia, where a change of government allowed for a reset.

After a quarrel sparked by Australia’s measures against Chinese political interference and a 2020 call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19, China targeted Australia with an economic coercion campaign similar to those it used against Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Norway, and others. But the Australian economy shrugged off Chinese hostility as the country diversified its soaring exports ; the coercion campaign failed.

China has since backed down from its bans on Australian coal and other imports, as well as releasing Australian journalist Cheng Lei , who was detained on national security charges in August 2020, at the nadir of relations. A recent visit to China by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was full of smiles and new agreements. It seems like an Australian victory, although the Australian government also put behind-the-scenes pressure on both Australian intelligence and strategy think tanks to go a little softer on Beijing.

Yet Canberra is in a strikingly different geopolitical position from the United States. As fierce as Australian domestic politics can be, it does not compare to the allegations thrown around Washington about politicians’ supposedly treacherous connections to Beijing. Nor does Australia occupy anything close to the U.S. place in the Chinese public psyche. The conflicts between China and the United States aren’t going away, even if they are managed more carefully.

What We’re Following

Pandas depart Washington. As Xi prepares to arrive in the United States, more beloved figures of Chinese diplomacy have left Washington: the Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant pandas . First brought to the United States in 1972, the animals—always technically on loan from China—represented a hope for friendship between the two countries that now seems distant.

China has long employed panda diplomacy as part of a softer approach to the world than the so-called wolf warrior diplomacy that has come to dominate under Xi, but by next year there may be no pandas left in any U.S. zoos (and possibly Australian ones). The panda has also become part of China’s self-image, even representing the country in its own domestic media —sometimes as strong, powerful, and resistant.

However, the association of the hapless bear and the Chinese nation is recent: The rare panda was basically absent from the popular consciousness before the 20th century and not often depicted in art. The arrival of the panda Chi-Chi at the London Zoo in 1958 brought the animals global attention, and Beijing picked up on it—along with the World Wildlife Fund’s adoption of the panda as a symbol of environmental protection in 1961.

A quiet funeral. Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s funeral passed without incident , thanks in part to restrictions on mourning. (As I noted last week, he also wasn’t a particularly popular figure in the first place.) Nevertheless, Li seems to have become a temporary symbol for Chinese people still holding out hope that the country can return to the days of economic and perhaps even political reform, since he was seen as a more technocratic figure than Xi.

There remains some skepticism about the claim that Li died of a heart attack—perhaps reflective of how much China’s urban upper-middle class has come to distrust the Chinese Communist Party’s word.

FP’s Most Read This Week

  • The Storm of Dissent Brewing in the State Department by Robbie Gramer
  • Ehud Barak on Israel’s Next Steps by Ravi Agrawal
  • Why the Global South Is Accusing America of Hypocrisy by Oliver Stuenkel

Tech and Business

Executive disappearances. This week, Chinese authorities opened a corruption investigation into Zhang Hongli (also known as Lee Zhang), a former executive vice president at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of the country’s largest state banks. He is just one in a series of financial figures to be brought down as part of sector-wide investigations in the last two years.

With experience at Goldman Sachs, Zhang was once a rising star in the industry who played a key role in building dubious links with foreign financial institutions and was close to the family of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao . (Wen’s billionaire wife, Zhang Peili, built a small empire of her own while her husband was in power.)

Meanwhile, Chen Shaojie, the head of a major gaming platform, was reportedly disappeared by authorities a few weeks ago. It’s common for business figures to be detained for weeks or longer, such as the still-missing banking executive Bao Fan. Such measures can reflect party intimidation of a sector, genuine investigations, or officials’ attempts to seize control of businesses.

Gallup leaves China. The polling and consultancy group Gallup has become the latest foreign firm to leave China, under pressure from authorities who seem increasingly intolerant of independent investigation of Chinese public opinion. As global opinion of China has declined, foreign polling firms have come under attack from Chinese media.

That is a big problem. Chinese officials’ own grasp of what’s happening in China is often weak, and public opinion is especially hard to gauge in a heavily censored and politically threatening environment. The more independent investigation gets shut down, the less the world knows.

James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy . Twitter:  @BeijingPalmer

Join the Conversation

Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.

Already a subscriber? Log In .

Subscribe Subscribe

View Comments

Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.

Not your account? Log out

Please follow our comment guidelines , stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

Change your username:

I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines . (Required)

Confirm your username to get started.

The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language.

Newsletters

Sign up for Editors' Picks

A curated selection of fp’s must-read stories..

You’re on the list! More ways to stay updated on global news:

Recent Coverage

Washington goes all-in on a tiktok ban, u.s. house moves toward tiktok crackdown, the hidden dangers in china’s gdp numbers, how china made xinjiang’s ceremonies illegal, china’s global ev domination is just beginning, editors’ picks.

  • 1 Why India Just Inked a New Free Trade Deal
  • 2 The History Crisis Is a National Security Problem
  • 3 Violence Has Failed Palestinians
  • 4 It’s Not Too Late for Restrained U.S. Foreign Policy
  • 5 The Hidden Dangers in China’s GDP Numbers
  • 6 Russia’s Military Is Already Preparing for Its Next War 

Russia Election: Vladimir Putin Prepares to Extend Reign

Biden's 2025 budget proposal: defense and diplomacy get meager funding boosts, russia is rebuilding its military in anticipation of possible future nato war, russia has moved tactical nuclear weapons to belarus, western officials confirm, palestine's only route to statehood is peace, more from foreign policy, nato’s military has a new nerve center.

The alliance has transformed its once sleepy headquarters into a war command focused on Russia.

The Brutal Logic to Israel’s Actions in Gaza

The Biden administration’s delicate, much criticized line recognizes the lack of a coherent alternative strategy.

NATO’s Confusion Over the Russia Threat

Scenarios and timelines for Moscow’s possible war goals in Europe are a veritable Tetris game of alliance planning.

War Between Israel and Hezbollah Is Becoming Inevitable

It’s time to stop the wishful thinking and start looking at the facts.

Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Are Now in Belarus

Russia’s military is already preparing for its next war , why india just inked a new free trade deal, violence has failed palestinians, princess catherine, bbc dad, and the new picture perfect, it’s not too late for restrained u.s. foreign policy, russia’s predetermined presidential contest, biden’s budget proposal gives meager boosts to defense and diplomacy.

Sign up for World Brief

FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day, written by Alexandra Sharp . Delivered weekdays.

  • International Trade
  • Nation & World Politics

Live updates from Xi visit: Xi greeted by supporters, protesters upon arrival in Seattle

President Xi Jinping arrived this morning in China’s equivalent of Air Force One — also a Boeing 747, by the way — for a two-day whirlwind of political and business meetings, accompanied by a massive delegation of Chinese officials and top corporate executives.

Share story

Update – 7:55 p.m., president xi jinping talks cybersecurity, china’s economy.

In a banquet speech Tuesday evening at the Westin Seattle Hotel, Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to allay U.S. concerns and give his views on several contentious issues in U.S.-China relations, including on cybersecurity and the state of China’s economy.

Xi received a warm welcome to standing applause from the hundreds gathered at the Westin.

“I am no stranger to the state of Washington and the city of Seattle,” said Xi, who had visited the state as a provincial level official years ago.

“The film ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ has made the city almost a household name in China,” he said.

He continued the folksy strain, talking about being sent to work in a village while a teenager during the Cultural Revolution.

“Life was very hard,” said the Chinese president, who said that background spurred his desire to improve the standard of living for people in that village.

He then tied that anecdote to a common refrain of his – the “Chinese Dream” – in which China is strong and revitalized and its people prosperous, saying economic development remained the top priority of Chinese leaders.

Xi has been running a vigorous anti-corruption campaign – something that’s created factions within the Party, but which he said tonight was to enforce “strong party discipline.”

“It has nothing to do with a power struggle,” he said. “In this case, there’s no ‘House of Cards.’”

To do this, he said, the economic reforms he has been pushing have to continue.

He sought to allay U.S. fears about the Chinese economy – especially its stock market plunge earlier this year and the government’s devaluation of the Chinese currency.

“China’s economy will stay on a steady course with fairly fast growth,” he said.

In addition, “China enjoys enormous space for its services sector to grow,” he said, referring to China’s transition from relying on cheap manufacturing to power its economic growth to one more powered by the services sector and middle-class buying power.

“Recent abnormal ups and downs in China’s stock market has caused wide concerns,” he acknowledged, and the government there took steps to “prevent massive panic from happening.”

“We’re against currency war,” Xi said. “We will not lower the rmb (renminbi, the Chinese currency) rate to boost exports.”

Chinese hackers have been accused by the U.S. government of breaking into corporate and government systems, stealing information to benefit Chinese companies or for intelligence gathering.

Xi said: “The Chinese government will not, in whatever form, engage in commercial theft nor encourage or support such efforts by anyone.”

Cybertheft and hacking, he said, were criminal acts and should be punished as such.

He also said his country was ready to set up “a high level joint dialogue mechanism with the United States to fight cybercrimes.”

Another area of contention between the U.S. and China regards China’s proposed laws that would put more restrictions on foreign non-governmental organizations operating in China.

Xi said of foreign NGOs that “so long as their activities are beneficial to the Chinese people, we will not restrict their activities.”

China’s increased assertiveness in the South China Sea has also raised worries from the U.S., which wants global shipping lanes there to remain free, and from other countries with territorial claims in the area.

Xi sought to allay some of the concerns about China’s military ambitions, saying: “No matter how developed it becomes, China will never seek hegemony or expansion.”

He said it was important for the U.S. and China to read each other’s strategic goals correctly and to cooperate and manage any differences.

For should the U.S. and China “enter into conflict and confrontation, it would lead to disaster for both countries and the world at large,” he said.

Update – 6:18 p.m.

Protesters dissipate downtown.

Roughly 80-100 people gathered in downtown Seattle late Tuesday afternoon to protest China’s involvement in Tibet, among other issues. They marched from Westlake Center toward the Westin Hotel, where the Chinese president is staying. Dozens of police officers prevented them from reaching the hotel, however. “Go home Xi” they chanted during the march. It was winding down by 6 p.m., with roughly three dozen people still in attendance.

Updated 4:21 p.m.

Bill gates touts nuclear-power pact with chinese.

Bill Gates — tech billionaire, philanthropist and sometimes still an investor — stole the spotlight at a gathering of Chinese and U.S. businesspeople and officials Tuesday after a company he backs and the China National Nuclear Corporation formally agreed to jointly pursue next-generation nuclear power.

Delegates stood up to take pictures with their smartphones as Gates, who’s a major investor and chairman of Bellevue-based TerraPower, told the audience, “Really this is something I think exemplifies the US and China working together well.”

The deal, announced at one of many events surrounding the Seattle visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, draws on the strengths of both countries, Gates said.

TerraPower is trying to develop a small-scale nuclear reactor that produces energy from spent uranium much more efficiently and safely than traditional reactors. The company says there’s enough spent radioactive fuel in the world to provide a huge amount of power for decades.

But the technology still faces serious technical challenges, which TerraPower has sought to overcome by proposing joint collaborations with nuclear nations such as China, India and France.

Gates, who has been in talks with CNNC for years, called the memorandum of understanding they signed “a milestone,” although it’s unclear how specifically it will advance TerraPower’s schedule. But it builds on the deal reached in late 2013, when the U.S. and Chinese governments had signed a technical cooperation agreement to allow technical collaboration to happen on TerraPower’s technology.

One thing is sure: China, which has made fighting carbon emissions a national priority, is the world’s biggest market for nuclear energy as well as a major producer of greenhouse gases.

Updated 2:09 p.m.

Xi greeted by supporters, protesters in seattle.

Chinese President Xi JinPing arrived at Everett’s Paine Field Tuesday morning for a two-day whirlwind of political and business meetings, accompanied by a massive delegation of Chinese officials and top corporate executives.

In downtown Seattle, hundreds of people lined the streets around the Westin Seattle Hotel on Tuesday to demonstrate their feelings as his police motorcade sped by.

Adherents of Falun Gong spiritual practice, who say their fellow believers are subject to persecution by the Chinese government, held protest banners aloft while supporters of Xi’s regime waved Chinese flags.

Falun Gong practitioner Wang Yunbo, 37, said he flew from San Francisco to demonstrate during the president’s Seattle visit because “we want to express our opinions about human rights and freedom.”

Wang, speaking Mandarin Chinese, said he left China for the U.S. on a tourist visa a year ago Tuesday and has applied for asylum here, claiming he was imprisoned for eight years on account of his beliefs.

Nearby, Jimmy Leung and other members of a Washington state-based Chinese immigrant association gave Xi a smiling welcome. Leung, a businessman who immigrated to the U.S. 22 years ago, called the leader China’s best president ever and praised him for working on economic ties with the Seattle area.

David Leong, 50, was born and raised in Seattle, where his family has lived for more than 100 years, he said. The martial arts instructor has Chinese heritage but said that wasn’t why he turned out Tuesday.

“Seattle is becoming an international city and I’m proud of that,” he said. “When a world leader visits Seattle, it’s important to show support, whether the leader is Chinese or Taiwanese or from Africa.”

Some well-wishers headed for home on chartered buses shortly after the motorcade dispersed.

Police kept onlookers across the street from the Westin, where inside the hotel’s lobby members of Xi’s delegation milled around snapping photos and chatting. Chinese newspapers were laid out alongside copies of USA Today and guests passed through a security checkpoint to reach their rooms.

Outside the Westlake Center shopping mall, under Seattle’s monorail, Han Yihong of Bellevue and Justin Yao of San Francisco engaged in a polite debate.

Han, 57, was born in Beijing and credits Xi with making her homeland stronger. She said he may be trying to reduce pressure on Falun Gong adherents in China.

Yao, a 35-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, said Xi must do more to protect believers like himself.

“We disagree but we’re discussing this peacefully,” Han said.

Who’s at the banquet

For Xi, tonight’s key event is a banquet with U.S. business and political luminaries from here and elsewhere.

The head table alone will include Bill and Melinda Gates, Gov. Jay Inselee, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and the chief executives of Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks. Not to mention the CEOs of IBM and DuPont, three other U.S. governors, and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker.

Xi is expected to make the major speech of his Seattle trip at the banquet.

Chinese officials at the table, in addition to Xi, include Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife; members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; the governors of Zhejiang, Shandong and Shanxi provinces; and the mayors of Beijing and Chongqing, according to the banquet program.

In addition to Xi’s speech, remarks are expected from Kissinger, Inslee, Pritzker and Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company and chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, one of the organizers of the event.

On the menu ? Salad; entrée choices of pan-seared Double R Ranch Washington beef and Northwest steelhead roulade, or chanterelle mushroom and roasted vegetables; and dessert of Theo Chocolate Marquise Dome on a brown butter pistachio cake, or nest of Valrhona chocolate and olive oil cake. Wine is Chateau Ste. Michelle 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon or 2014 Chardonnay.

Menu

Read the entire menu

Airport greeting

Upon Xi’s arrival at Paine Field, he was greeted by applause from a large group of politicians and business leaders. Xi and his wife smiled and waved as they stepped off an Air China jetliner about 9:30 am, then descended a staircase to a sun-drenched red carpet lined with more than three dozen dignitaries.

Two children, the 8-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter of a Boeing employee, welcomed the Chinese president and First Lady with flowers, before Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, former governor and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, and dozens of other VIPS greeted the couple in a short reception on the tarmac amid heavy security.

Xi then climbed into an SUV, and his motorcade departed for Seattle.

Those on hand included U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus. In a brief discussion with journalists, the former U.S. Senator from Montana called China’s pursuit of disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea “concerning,” adding the issue  is “not to be resolved during this visit.”

“It will be on the agenda for the next couple three years,” Baucus said. “It’s extremely important, in my judgment, that the issue be resolved according to international norms and international dispute settlements… rather than use of brute force or trying to push other countries around.”

Baucus added that cybersecurity remains a priority issue in the two nations’ diplomatic relations – so much so that America has taken a hard stand.

“The threat of (economic) sanctions … has brought the Chinese to the table” on the cybersecurity issue, Baucus said. “They were not coming to the table until there was a threat.”

The Chinese president, who will tour Microsoft, Boeing and Tacoma’s  Lincoln High School before leaving for Washington, D.C., on Thursday, is expected to give a policy speech on U.S.-China relations during a reception Tuesday night.

Even before his arrival to Seattle’s Westin Hotel, protesters were gathering downtown Tuesday morning to decry the Chinese government’s human rights abuses and voice other concerns. Supporters of the government were also out in force with banners. With some streets closed around the Westin for the duration, traffic downtown will be more difficult than usual .

Following Xi’s landing Tuesday, Locke, standing before China’s presidential Boeing 747-400 jet, noted that his visit marked an important economic milestone for the Northwest.

More than 90,000 jobs here rely on trade to China, and several ongoing projects now under development in Washington are receiving heavy financial investment from China, Locke said.

Watch: President Xi’s arrival

The visit also will help to further establish diplomatic relations between the two nations, Locke said, including seeking common ground on such pressing issues as cybersecurity and climate change.

“There are many areas of common interest between China and the U.S.,” Locke said. “…And there’s no substitute for face to face dialogue between President Obama and President Xi.”

How large is the contingent from China?

Any visit details from China’s officials are difficult to obtain, but Starbucks, whose CEO was on the planning committee, reports that 1,000 people are making the trip. Not all, presumably, are on that 747.

Hong Kong’s The Standard described the delegation as “a historic line-up of China’s business heavyweights .”  They include  Alibaba chief Jack Ma and lesser-known but also powerful executives such as the head of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank.

In an interview ahead of his visit to Seattle and the nation’s capital, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Wall Street Journal that the economic slowdown that has rattled markets worldwide won’t deter the structural reforms he has promised.

“Any ship, however large, may occasionally get unstable sailing on the high sea,” he said.

As for this summer’s widespread government interventions to halt the slide in China’s stock market, Xi declared they were comparable to actions taken by governments in “some mature foreign markets,” the WSJ reported.

He downplayed the disputes that have caused a growing rift between the U.S. and China, and said his country wants to cooperate on resolving them.

“I don’t believe any country is capable of rearranging the architecture of global governance toward itself,” he told the Journal in written responses to questions, adding, “Facts have shown that the interests of China and the U.S. are increasingly intertwined.”

But he dismissed concerns that U.S. businesses are being treated unfairly in China, and said controls on Internet access and new restrictions on foreign non-profits will continue.

Xi may address some of these themes tonight at a banquet at the Westin Hotel, where he’ll speak directly to an audience of U.S. political and business leaders.

China’s Xi Jinping arrives in US ahead of summit with Joe Biden

Xi is on his first visit to the US in six years as Washington looks to cool tensions with Beijing.

Xi waves from the plane after arriving in San Franciso.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the United States for his first visit in six years, after US President Joe Biden said his goal in their bilateral talks this week was to restore normal communications with Beijing, including military-to-military contacts.

Xi is due to meet Biden near San Francisco on Wednesday morning US time, before attending the annual summit of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping.

Keep reading

China’s xi to meet biden: what’s the agenda, will gaza war be discussed, us, china need ‘healthy economic relations’, yellen says, ‘the china project’ media shuts, blaming ‘politically-motivated attacks’, us viewed more positively as china sinks in approval, poll shows.

The summit will be their first face-to-face meeting in a year and follows months of high-level meetings to prepare the ground, after tensions between the two countries spiked over issues from trade to human rights and the pandemic.

Speaking ahead of his departure, Biden said his goal was simply to improve the bilateral relationship.

“We’re not trying to decouple from China. What we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better,” Biden told reporters at the White House before heading to San Francisco.

Asked what he hoped to achieve at the meeting, he said he wanted “to get back on a normal course of corresponding; being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another if there’s a crisis; being able to make sure our [militaries] still have contact with one another”.

Xi waved from the door of his Air China plane before walking down the steps to meet US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, who were waiting on the tarmac.

He is on his first visit to US since 2017 when he met then president Donald Trump.

Xi Jinping supporters waving Chinese and US flags outside his hotel.

China, which regularly talks about “red lines” on issues such as the self-ruled island Taiwan, which it claims as its own and its expansive claims in the South China Sea , has been more circumspect about its expectations for the summit.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry mentioned only “in-depth communication” and “major issues concerning world peace” when asked about the meeting this week.

Nevertheless, analysts said the very fact the talks were taking place was significant.

“The importance of the much-expected meeting between President Biden and President Xi in San Francisco cannot be understated, no matter the likely shallowness of the outcomes,” Alicia Garcia Herrero of investment banking group Natixis wrote in an analysis ahead of the summit.

Protests expected

Crowds gathered along the route of Xi’s motorcade to the luxury hotel where the Chinese delegation is staying.

Some held signs that read “End CCP,” the initials of Chinese Communist Party. Another sign read “Warmly Welcome President Xi Jinping” and was stuck to concrete bollards.

Outside the hotel, several hundred Beijing supporters waved US and Chinese flags as they waited and played the patriotic song Ode to the Motherland through loudspeakers

Scuffles broke out with the few anti-Xi protesters who were there, but police quickly intervened to restore calm.

Pro-China and anti-China demonstrators also gathered near the Moscone Center, the venue where many of the APEC meetings were being held. Larger protests, including by rights groups critical of Xi’s policies in Tibet, Hong Kong and towards Muslim Uyghurs, are expected near the summit venue on Wednesday.

A large banner outside the APEC venue reading 'Dictator Xi Jinping, your time is up! Free Tibet'. It is being held by several Tibetan students

Xi and Biden are expected to meet at Filoli Estate, a country house museum about 40km (25 miles) south of San Francisco, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing three senior officials in the US administration who requested anonymity. The venue has not yet been confirmed by the White House and Chinese government.

While economic issues are likely to be high on the agenda of the meeting, including steps to curb the production of the potent synthetic opioid drug fentanyl , increasing geopolitical tensions are likely to dominate discussions.

White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Biden and Xi would talk about the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza as well as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine .

While Washington has sought to reset ties with China, it has also signalled that will not be at the expense of key US concerns.

Biden is “not going to be afraid to – to confront where confrontation is needed on issues where we don’t see eye to eye with President Xi and the PRC,” Kirby said, using the initials for the People’s Republic of China.

President Joe Biden arriving at the airport in San Francisco, He is near the bottom of the plane steps and two guards on either side are saluting

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told APEC ministers that the US believed in “a region where economies are free to choose their own path … where goods, ideas, people flow lawfully and freely”.

Blinken did not mention China by name, but his language echoed US rhetoric in recent years in which Washington has accused China of bullying smaller countries in the Asia Pacific and trying to undermine what the US and its allies call the “rules-based” international order.

  • Skip to main content
  • Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

4 takeaways from President Biden's 'very blunt' meeting with China's Xi Jinping

Emily Feng at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., March 19, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on Monday. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on Monday.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia — A highly anticipated meeting between China's leader Xi Jinping and President Biden finished Monday with both leaders expressing an openness to restoring channels of communication and repairing a relationship that has been compared to a second Cold War.

The leaders of two superpowers met face-to-face and unmasked on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday evening. In a substantial meeting, they touched on the war in Ukraine, military tension in the Taiwan Strait and North Korean missile tests.

Biden and China's Xi met for three hours. Here's what they talked about

Biden and China's Xi met for three hours. Here's what they talked about

Biden said he and Xi were "very blunt with one another." Xi, according to his spokesperson, viewed the meeting as "in-depth, candid and constructive."

Here's what you need to know about their three-hour discussion.

A "baby step" — but a step in the right direction

Biden and Xi both said in their opening remarks that they were looking for ways to coexist despite their disagreements. The two spent lots of time together when they were both vice presidents more than a decade ago — and both men referenced their lengthy relationship in warm greetings before the talks began.

"Do I believe he's willing to compromise on certain issues? Yes," Biden told reporters afterward about his meeting with Xi. "We were very blunt with one another about places where we disagreed."

As Biden and Xi meet in Bali, rest of Asia watches closely, too

Today's meeting was the first face-to-face exchange between the two since Biden became president. It took place after both leaders had just strengthened their respective political positions at home, analysts say.

Yu Jie , a senior research fellow on China at the London-based think tank Chatham House, says that given Biden's "reasonable success" in the midterms, he is in a stronger position to steer Washington's relationship with Beijing.

And for Xi, Yu says his further consolidation of power in the Chinese system may leave him more space for conducting diplomacy. "Xi is keen to resume a routinized mechanism and dialogue to steady the bilateral ties with Biden," she says.

president xi visit

President Biden speaks at a press conference on the eve of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. Christoph Soeder/DPA/Picture Alliance/Getty Images hide caption

President Biden speaks at a press conference on the eve of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

U.S. officials share this relative optimism. "The fact of a leaders' meeting coming together has created space in the Chinese system, for reopening what we believe to just be simply ongoing work between our side to get things done," a senior administration official told reporters before the meeting.

In what analysts called a "breakthrough," Beijing and Washington said they would resume climate talks that had been frozen following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan in August, which Beijing claims as its own. The White House said the leaders "agreed to empower key senior officials to maintain communication and deepen constructive efforts."

However, Yu warns that Monday's meeting is just "a baby step" towards improving relations: "It will not resolve any substantial grievances both sides have had against each other, but only slowing down the deterioration of their relations."

The State Department said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also visit China in person sometime early next year to follow up on the Xi-Biden meeting.

Taiwan, technology and human rights remain areas of intense disagreement

During their meeting, Biden and Xi did not resolve the key issues that have driven competition and disagreement between the U.S. and China.

Last month, the U.S. imposed dramatic export bans on certain advanced semiconductor technology — trade sanctions explicitly designed to hobble critical technology sectors like military modernization and artificial intelligence that are important to China.

Meanwhile, according to the U.S. readout, Biden "raised concerns about PRC practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and human rights more broadly." China has long insisted these issues are of "internal affairs" and has warned against "external interference."

"The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together," tweeted Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry spokesperson who accompanied Xi in his meeting with Biden.

On Taiwan, despite intense media speculation over Beijing's intention, Biden said he did "not think there's any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan."

president xi visit

Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on Aug. 4, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on Aug. 4, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island.

But the president objected to Beijing's "coercive and increasingly aggressive" Chinese actions in the waters around Taiwan, according to the White House readout , adding such behaviors "undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardize global prosperity."

China regards the "Taiwan question" an internal matter. It is "at the very core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations," wrote Hua , the spokesperson, on Twitter after the meeting ended .

After decades focused on the Middle East, the U.S. military shifts to the Pacific

Both Chinese and American militaries have recently been beefing up their capabilities in case of a conflict over Taiwan. For Washington, this is also a part of the broader paradigm shift in its strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. After decades of concentrating its fighting power in the Middle East, the U.S. is now shifting its focus to Asia.

China is watching closely, too. Xi recently appointed a new slate of top military leaders from China's Eastern Theater Command, which encompasses Taiwan, indicating that going forward, the island is a priority for China's fighting forces. Last week, he urged his military to "focus all its energy on fighting."

Ukraine and North Korea were elephants in the room

The U.S. has pushed China to take a clearer stand against Russia's war in Ukraine, which China has tried to remain neutral on despite signing a partnership with Moscow in February.

Some analysts say China appeared to be blindsided when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Beijing has called repeatedly for a peaceful, negotiated end to the war.

During their meeting, Xi and Biden agreed "that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine," according to the White House statement. The Chinese readout included no mention of nuclear weapons.

The two leaders also spoke about North Korea — a longstanding regional security issue. Biden warned if Beijing is unable to rein in Pyongyang's weapons ambitions, the U.S. would beef up its presence in the region — a move that will be read by Beijing as a threat to its own security.

U.S. domestic politics also plays a role

Last year, China's foreign minister Wang Yi put out three core demands — "bottom lines" — that China wanted the U.S. to agree to in order for relations to improve: to not get in the way in the country's development, to respect China's claims over places like Taiwan and to respect Beijing's Communist Party rule.

From Beijing's perspective, the U.S. has since done the opposite on all counts. It has imposed the semiconductor export bans and sanctioned some of China's leading technology firms — moves Beijing decried.

Pelosi has landed in Taiwan. Here's why that's a big deal

Pelosi has landed in Taiwan. Here's why that's a big deal

Meanwhile, the U.S. has upped ties with Taiwan, with lawmakers including Pelosi visiting the island since August. Congress is considering drawing on the U.S. weapons stockpile to arm the island at American expense. Biden stressed in the press conference after meeting Xi that U.S. policy on Taiwan remains unchanged.

And while Biden came in to the G20 with a stronger position due to the narrow Democratic victory in the battle to control the Senate, he is up for reelection in two years himself.

Many in China now worry that should Republicans win the presidency in 2024, the U.S. will take an even more starkly hostile position against it.

Aowen Cao contributed research from Beijing.

  • president biden

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

Greg Epstein.

It may be neither higher nor intelligence

Former Brazilian judge Jean Vilbert.

Bolsonaro, Trump election cases share similarities, but not rulings

Sugata Bose (from left), Sandipto Dasgupta, Sushant Singh, and Raheel Dhattiwala.

Dark concerns over upcoming vote in world’s largest democracy

During his visit to the U.S., Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with President Biden, their first face-to-face meeting in a year.

Alex Brandon/AP file photo

How big a deal is meeting between Biden, Xi? Pretty big

Christina Pazzanese

Harvard Staff Writer

Longtime China watcher Tony Saich says two nations want to stabilize ties a bit amid troubling levels of tension

China President Xi Jinping will be in San Francisco to speak with business leaders attending a gathering of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) this week. It’s his first visit to the U.S. since a 2017 meeting with then-President Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. On Wednesday, Xi is expected to sit down with President Biden for their first face-to-face meeting in a year.

Though not a formal state visit, it’s nevertheless a complicated, high-stakes sideline meeting given the deterioration of relations between the U.S. and China since January, when a spy balloon was discovered floating over the Western U.S. and Canada. Both nations have slapped trade tariffs and technology sanctions on each other and cut off communications between their respective militaries. There have been several recent near-misses in the Pacific involving the two nations’ armed forces.

The Gazette spoke with Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, about what to expect from this unofficial summit. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

GAZETTE:  Why is President Xi coming now and why this particular event?

SAICH:  There are two particular reasons. First, I think for him not to attend the APEC meetings would send a signal to many of the countries in the region that China really has turned inward. And it would also give the United States of America a prime opportunity to position itself as a leader across the APEC community given that this meeting is taking place in San Francisco.

Secondly, the domestic situation for Xi Jinping has also changed significantly. In March, Xi and the foreign minister were both highly critical of the United States of America and really saw the problems in the relationship as stemming from U.S. attitudes and U.S. practices. Now, if you fast-forward to when Senator Chuck Schumer was visiting [in October], we had comments from Xi Jinping that he can think of 1,000 reasons why the relationship should be better and couldn’t think of one why it should be worse.

Why that shift? I think there are two primary reasons. The first is that the Chinese economy is in trouble, and growth rates have slowed significantly. The rebound that was expected post-COVID hasn’t really maintained, and China really needs global engagement and investment to keep the economy moving forward. I think it was indicative that Xi Jinping wanted to meet first with business leaders before meeting with President Biden — that was nixed by the White House. It was clear that what he wanted was to try to use the business community, telling them China’s still open for business, to put pressure on Washington to back off on its restrictions of exports to China.

China has been taken aback by the strength of the West’s reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That has led to an unexpected isolation internationally for China, which it had not anticipated. So, there’s a lot of pressure on Xi Jinping to try to put a floor under the relationship.

“Things are as bad as I can remember since diplomatic relations were restored [in the late 1970s],” said Tony Saich. “Across the board, there’s disagreement on almost everything, with one possible exception of the challenge of climate change.”

Photo by Winston Tang

GAZETTE:  You first visited China as a student in 1976 and have a long connection to that nation. How strained are relations right now between the two countries?

SAICH:  Things are as bad as I can remember since diplomatic relations were restored [in the late 1970s]. And it cuts across a whole range of issues from security challenges, practices domestically in China, what China perceives as the United States’ efforts to constrain China’s development and its rise. Across the board, there’s disagreement on almost everything, with one possible exception of the challenge of climate change.

GAZETTE:  What does Xi want to accomplish with this visit and what issues will he focus on?

SAICH:  At one level, he’ll want to send the message that China is open for business, that he does still welcome American investment in China. Secondly, I think he wants to counteract what the administration calls “small yard, high fence.” And what it means by that is a limited restriction on export of semiconductors and those goods that might be used for geotechnology, i.e., for military use. So, I think he wants to push back on making sure that the restrictions of exports to China don’t increase the impact on other areas of the economy.

And then third, I think there’s going to be attempts for him to push back on what he sees as U.S. alliances within Asia that he sees as constraining China’s developments, trying to get some assurance from Washington about the attitude toward Taiwan. I don’t think he’s going to shift the needle significantly on Washington’s view, but at least get some encouraging comment that he can sell back home, along the lines of “President Biden said they’re not going to encourage independence. They’re completely opposed to it. And they will restrain any possible actions in that direction that anybody in Taiwan might consider.”

GAZETTE:  What does the U.S. hope to accomplish?

SAICH:  I think Washington has also realized that some level of a relationship has to be maintained. There are certain global challenges that are important to the U.S., not just climate change, but other things around oceans and public health issues, etc., which really can’t be resolved without engaging China in some way or another. So, at that level, perhaps what the White House is hoping is it will legitimize discussions between officials who are dealing more with the day-to-day operational aspects of the relationship.

Secondly, Washington really wants to revive military-to-military contacts, which were cut off after the wandering balloon across North America and also severely restricted after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Washington sees some ability to communicate at the military level is extremely important.

And then, for U.S. domestic consumption, it will want to at least get to some decent agreements about a level playing field for the economy, while also showing that Washington still hasn’t forgotten questions around human rights issues and persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang, northwest China. One possible area for a joint comment might be with respect to cracking down on Chinese companies that produce and export the chemicals that make fentanyl.

GAZETTE:   There have been several near-misses, in the air and on the sea, between the U.S. and China military recently. The Biden administration hopes to re-establish military communications coming out of this meeting. How much of a positive would that be?

SAICH:  It’s a huge positive. In such a contested part of the world, where accidents could immediately spin out of control into a major conflagration, having no ability to communicate is a terrible situation. I heard from people, for example, with the balloon incident that no one was picking up the phone in Beijing. What we’ve seen historically, it takes a long time for the Chinese system to kick into responding to crises. So, some kind of mechanism for better communication to prevent the unforeseen expanding into a major conflict is really crucial. And I hope both sides can recognize that.

“It is quite clear that Xi Jinping consistently has believed that the American intention is to constrain China. He also believes that the West is in decline while China is rising, and this is China’s opportunity to exert greater influence in global affairs and global governance.”

GAZETTE:  Are there areas for Xi and Biden to find common ground?

SAICH:  What we have seen is climate change envoy John Kerry and envoy Xie Zhenhua, who covers the climate areas in China, have fairly consistently had a decent working relationship and seem to have moved the needle along. And that is important preceding the next COP meeting. There needs to be some alignment of interest between the U.S. and China. So that is one key area of importance where the two may be able to push ahead with agreements. That, at least, would be a good starting point.

GAZETTE:  Both the U.S. and China have stated their economic interdependence makes cooperation and open dialogue vital. Should the U.S. rely on anything China says or promises, especially given a New York Times report this week that, in meetings with his military, Xi has expressed the view that the relationship between the nations is a zero-sum game?

SAICH:  It’s not unusual for politicians to say one thing in public and then something else when they’re not in public. I don’t think the U.S. should rely on anything that is said either in private talks or what is said in public because we’ve seen China, across a range of issues, saying one thing, but acting differently.

Take the business arena, for example. China is talking up a positive business environment, but then you see the kinds of restrictions and investigations and closing down of information channels that have been happening domestically in China. This seems to undercut what is being said publicly.

It is quite clear that Xi Jinping consistently has believed that the American intention is to constrain China. He also believes that the West is in decline while China is rising, and this is China’s opportunity to exert greater influence in global affairs and global governance. Now, we might dispute that, but I think that certainly drives a lot of his real actions.

GAZETTE:  Xi met a few weeks ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last year, they famously proclaimed the close relationship between China and Russia had “no limits.” Any signs that’s changed at all?

SAICH:  I’m sure Washington is going to ask China to use any influence it may have on Putin to restrain the activities in the invasion of Ukraine. But consistently, it has continued to support Russia’s primary talking points, that the situation is created by the West, with the expansion of NATO, and thus it is, therefore, primarily a problem created by the United States of America.

I think Xi and Putin’s relationship is genuine, is very beneficial for Beijing. It’s quite clear Russia is now the junior partner. A weakened but not unstable Russia is extremely valuable to China in terms of oil, gas, and other raw materials it needs to build up its own strength for what it sees as the major problem, the long-term strained relationship and potential conflict with the U.S. The more the U.S. gets deflected from being able to focus on the pivot and turn back to building up capabilities in the Asia Pacific, the happier that will make Beijing.

GAZETTE:  Does China have a favorite candidate in the 2024 presidential election?

SAICH:  What I hear from people in China is that there is a preference for Donald Trump because they think that will be very chaotic and potentially detrimental for the U.S. — that’s their opinion.

They’ve been very disappointed with the Biden administration because they felt the administration might pull back from some of the measures President Trump brought in toward the end of his administration. They found, in many ways, that the Biden administration is probably tougher and more consistent and more coherent in its approach toward China. Both that it didn’t lift the tariffs that President Trump had brought in, that it’s brought in new restrictions around advanced semiconductor exports, and that it has really pushed hard to revitalize traditional alliances in the region.

Share this article

You might like.

Religious scholars examine value, limits of AI

Former Brazilian judge Jean Vilbert.

Former Brazilian judge, legal scholar says deciding who can be blocked from running is perilous, fraught

Sugata Bose (from left), Sandipto Dasgupta, Sushant Singh, and Raheel Dhattiwala.

Social scientists discuss controversial Indian prime minister Modi, rise of right-wing populism, erosion of political journalism

Potential link to an everyday food in cancer findings

Oleic acid, key component of olive oil, implicated in metastasis — but investigators emphasize the need for more clarity

Time to finally stop worrying about COVID?

Chan School’s William Hanage says CDC may have eased some recommendations, but vulnerable populations remain just that

So what exactly makes Taylor Swift so great?

Experts weigh in on pop superstar's cultural and financial impact as her tours and albums continue to break records.

The New York Times

Advertisement

World | Reporter‘s Notebook

Xi jinping’s u.s. visit.

By Jane Perlez

Jane Perlez, The New York Times’s chief diplomatic correspondent, followed China’s president, Xi Jinping, and documented key moments of his first state visit to the United States. Look back at highlights here, and continue to follow Jane on Twitter and on Instagram .

president xi visit

The Most Memorable Moment of Xi’s America Trip

After his appearances at the United Nations and a six-day, cross-country journey, President Xi Jinping headed home on Monday.

Looking back at the trip, the most memorable moment – and maybe the most important – was watching $2.5 trillion of American corporate power pay homage to the Chinese president.

That event unfolded in a less than obvious way.

When word circulated that the chief executives of the top American technology companies would meet with Mr. Xi for a group photo on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., last week, many wondered who would turn up.

The photo was scheduled for the end of an Internet industry conference that the Chinese had choreographed for Mr. Xi’s trip to try to smooth over the deep problems many American tech companies face in the China market, including rampant theft of intellectual property .

For days, reporters had asked Microsoft, a co-host of the conference with China, for the names of the executive who would meet Mr. Xi. Microsoft demurred.

The turnout at the opening session of the conference was desultory. Perhaps, it seemed, there would just be a handful of executives with Mr. Xi.

In the afternoon, about 20 minutes before Mr. Xi was scheduled to arrive, his Internet czar, Lu Wei, entered the room where risers had been set up for the executives. Mr. Lu checked where Mr. Xi would stand, looked around the room, and left.

Suddenly, the chief executives of America’s top 10 technology companies – market value about $2.5 trillion – accompanied by the heads of more than a dozen Chinese tech companies, arrived. They lined up in three rows.

These executives are not accustomed to being beckoned – they turn down invitations to business summits, the World Economic Forum and more. But Mr. Xi beckoned, and they came.

The allure of being in Mr. Xi’s orbit was clearly too tantalizing for the executives to miss.

After they arrived, the executives cooled their heels for more than 10 minutes, waiting for Mr. Xi to finish his tour of Microsoft.

It was hard to imagine these execs waiting idly for 10 minutes anywhere else.

Mr. Xi eventually entered, smiled and shook hands with the first row, starting with Mark Zuckerberg , the founder of Facebook, which is banned in China.

For the photo, Mr. Xi planted himself next to Virginia M. Rometty, the head of IBM. A podium was rolled out, and Mr. Xi spoke for about six minutes, then left.

That photo op turned out to be the most sensational moment of the trip, a 10-minute session that illustrated the raw power of the Chinese leader and the huge market he controls.

Afterward, even Timothy D. Cook, Apple's chief executive, said he was impressed. “Did you feel the room shake?” he said, with a smile.

president xi visit

China Surprises U.N. With $100 Million and Thousands of Troops for Peacekeeping

In one of the more surprising announcements during his visit to the United States, President Xi Jinping of China announced on Monday during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly that his country would offer more money and more troops to aid United Nations peacekeeping efforts.

China, he said, planned to set up a United Nations permanent peacekeeping force of 8,000 troops and would provide $100 million to the African Union to create an immediate response unit capable of responding to emergencies.

In addition to the peacekeeping pledge, Mr. Xi promised a $1 billion donation to the United Nations for a “peace and development fund.”

All this amounted to an effort to respond to calls from the United States and others in the West that as the world’s second largest economy, China needed to shoulder more responsibilities at the United Nations.

Mr. Xi appearance at the United Nations was his first since he assumed power in 2012. He seemed anxious to make a splash and show that China would rise to the occasion. Next year, China will assume the leadership of the G-20, the group of the world’s 20 major economies.

China has always been proud of its contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Of the four other world powers on the Security Council, China has deployed the most troops to peacekeeping operations.

Yet, the number of Chinese forces is small when compared with other big contributing countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, given China’s large defense budget.

At a special summit on peacekeeping convened by President Obama on Monday afternoon, Mr. Xi said China would supplement the big-ticket items he had outlined earlier in the day with a helicopter squad for peacekeeping operations in Africa. China, he added, would also train 5,000 peacekeepers from other countries over the next five years.

China’s decision to commit 8,000 police officers was a significant contribution, said Bruce Jones, vice president for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and an expert on peacekeeping.

“Police is one of the most glaring gaps in the United Nations peacekeeping operations,” he said. “This is an important step in creating a dedicated reserve capacity.”

In April, as a precursor to Mr. Xi’s announcement, China dispatched an infantry battalion of 700 soldiers to South Sudan to protect civilians, United Nations employees and humanitarian workers as part of the peacekeeping force there.

China is the biggest investor in South Sudan’s oil fields, where production has slowed because of the fighting.

Together with the United States, China has tried to play a mediating role in that conflict, and Mr. Xi told the heads of state at the General Assembly that peacekeeping alone would not solve Africa’s wars.

Diplomacy and national reconciliation, he said, had to accompany the newly strengthened peacekeeping forces.

Highlights From Xi’s Speech at U.N. General Assembly

president xi visit

Xi Jinping announces new China-UN development fund, gives $1 billion, part of his taking on more responsibility as US asked janeperlez At UN, Xi Jinping says China will help set up a permanent police peace keeping force. janeperlez Xi Jinping offers $100 million to African Union for a stand by force to respond to emergencies janeperlez New $100 million standby force offered by Xi for African Union can help protect China's resources on the continent janeperlez

China Has Tart Response for Hillary Clinton Over Women’s Rights

When Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized China for President Xi Jinping’s prominent role at a United Nations meeting about women on Sunday, the Chinese were ready for political combat. Mrs. Clinton posted on Twitter : “Xi hosting a meeting on women’s rights at the UN while persecuting feminists? Shameless.”

The Twitter post had particular resonance because 20 years ago when she was first lady, Mrs. Clinton addressed the United Nations summit meeting on women in Beijing and argued that women’s rights were human rights. At the time, the Chinese government was outraged at her candor.

As Mr. Xi presided over the meeting at the United Nations that commemorated the summit meeting 20 years ago, the photographs of three Chinese women who are detained for their opposition to the government were affixed to the facade of the United States Mission to the United Nations across the street from the United Nations.

The images are part of a display highlighting the persecution of 20 women in 13 countries who have been arrested for their political beliefs.

At a news briefing for Western reporters at the Waldorf Astoria, where the Chinese delegation is staying, the Chinese had a tart answer to Mrs. Clinton.

“I believe the Chinese people, particularly the women of China are in the best position to judge on the progress of women in China,” said Li Junhua, director general for international organizations and conferences at the foreign ministry. “As far as I understand, these people are detained not because of women’s rights but because of the violation of laws.”

president xi visit

How the Chinese News Media Is Covering Xi’s Trip

When President Xi Jinping’s plane touched down in Seattle for the start of his American trip, 22 Chinese journalists got out of the back door, all handpicked from state-run newspapers and CCTV, the main state broadcaster, for one of the most important assignments in Chinese media.

Their job for the next six days would be to report on Mr. Xi’s public appearances according to a pre-ordained script prepared by the president’s aides for China’s vast television and Internet audience.

Mr. Xi’s journey from Seattle to Washington and to New York has gone smoothly, with few surprises.

Protesters have been kept out of camera range of the president, and the chants from Free Tibet campaigners and adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual group have been too distant for microphones to detect.

Just as the White House carefully plots the course of coverage for a presidential trip overseas, so does the Chinese government. But for the most part it is difficult for the White House to dictate to the American news media how to cover events, or what video to shoot. Since the Chinese news media is government-controlled, it is easy, indeed expected, for top propaganda officials to make those calls.

This is roughly how it works, said Zhan Jiang, a professor of journalism at Beijing Foreign Studies University, who used to work at CCTV.

Mr. Xi’s chief aide, Li Zhanshu, who is head of the Communist Party’s Central Committee General Office, almost certainly discussed the reporting plan for the trip in advance with CCTV. A star anchor was assigned to the trip, and possibly a CCTV president or vice-president came along, too.

Reporters for Xinhua and People’s Daily , two of the most important news outlets, were also assigned to the trip. Their reports have appeared on popular web portals like Tencent.com and Sina.com , which are not allowed to have their own journalists. The portals are instructed what headlines to use and for how long the stories should stay live, Professor Zhan said.

This was the first presidential trip since the Internet has become so powerful in China, but Professor Zhan said the government was using the web portals somewhat sparingly.

“They are not solemn and formal enough and lack the sense of ritual,” he said. “That’s why the propaganda department is still heavily relying on CCTV.”

Pomp, power and money have been the dominant themes in the Chinese reports.

Photos of Mr. Xi and President Obama talking in the doorway of Blair House, the presidential guesthouse across from the White House, were prominently played.

The message: Mr. Xi was welcomed at an especially exclusive place. The propaganda overseers did not seem to care that Mr. Obama, though standing very close to Mr. Xi, has his arms folded in a slightly exasperated posture.

When Mr. Xi met with the chief executives of America’s top tech companies at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the caption on the Xinhua photograph read: the value of the companies, $2.5 trillion, is the total GDP of Britain.

The unexpected parts of the trip have been ignored by the Chinese press. The rapturous reception of Pope Francis in New York and the announced resignation of Speaker John A. Boehner swept Mr. Xi’s White House appearance off American television, and pushed him off the front page.

That the pope eclipsed Mr. Xi in America was not mentioned on CCTV. And Mr. Boehner, even in office, is a rather arcane subject for a Chinese audience.

As Xi Leads Summit at the U.N., Images of Detained Chinese Women Stare From Across the Street

A close-up of the Chinese journalist Gao Yu shows a pensive, determined face framed by cropped hair. The face looks out from the glass lobby of the United States Mission to the United Nations, along with images of 19 other women whose images are styled like mug shots: They are all women who are or have been imprisoned for dissent.

Across the street at the United Nations headquarters on Sunday morning, President Xi Jinping of China led a summit of world leaders to mark the anniversary of a conference on women’s rights in Beijing 20 years ago.

The Chinese government planned Mr. Xi’s prominent role to show that he is committed to the empowerment of Chinese women. The ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, thinks otherwise.

Ms. Power has been the force behind the display of photographs, called #FreeThe20, and a video on Twitter shows her unveiling the 20 images by putting up the first one nearly three weeks ago. She was present when Mr. Xi addressed the summit, but unlike the scores of international leaders at the event, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President François Hollande of France, she did not speak.

President Obama did not attend the session, a decision by the administration to signal its distaste for the idea of Mr. Xi celebrating women’s progress in China amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent, including the arrest of female activists.

Ms. Gao, 71, was arrested last year and sentenced to seven years in prison for disclosing to an overseas news media group a Communist Party document that described the party’s plans to combat political dissent. (She is banned from writing for the Chinese news media). The document was hardly a major secret: It had already been reported on government websites.

Long admired for her determined challenges to the party’s political power, Ms. Gao will be nearly 80 if she serves her full sentence.

The 20 detained women are from 13 countries, and two others are Chinese. Liu Xia, the wife of China’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, was taken into custody in 2010 and placed under house arrest after her husband, who is serving a long prison sentence, won the prize.

Friends of Ms. Liu say she suffers from severe depression and lives in what amounts to solitary confinement in her Beijing apartment, without a telephone or access to the Internet.

Also on the glass wall is Wang Yu, 44, a lawyer, and a defender of some of the most vigorous critics of the Chinese government.

Her latest case involved the newest frontier in women’s rights in China: sexual harassment. Five women were detained in March as they distributed pamphlets and signs for a public awareness campaign against sexual harassment on public transportation. Ms. Wang represented the “Five Feminists” and they were released a month later.

But in July, Ms. Wang was detained along with her husband and their 16-year-old son. The state news media called her law firm “a major criminal gang,” and when more than 150 Chinese lawyers signed a petition calling for Ms. Wang’s release, many of them were detained, too. Most have since been released.

Ms. Wang has often expressed defiance and confidence. Before her arrest, she said: “I believe that during this time of enlightenment and rapid development of the Internet any shameful attempt to smear me is doomed to fail.”

Once the Haunt of American Presidents, Chinese Leaders Stay at Waldorf Astoria

President Xi Jinping checked into the Waldorf Astoria in New York on Friday night, the grand Art Deco 47-story tower that he can now call a home away from home.

When a Chinese conglomerate, Anbang Insurance Group, with close connections to the Chinese government bought the hotel last year from Hilton Worldwide for $1.95 billion, it was clear Mr. Xi and his entourage would stay there during the United Nations General Assembly now underway.

But what would happen to the American delegation? The Waldorf has served as the headquarters of American presidents during the United Nations fall meetings for decades. In the past, floors were cordoned off exclusively for the Americans, who would set up temporary offices, and often leave documents and computers scattered along the corridors.

Not this time. This year, President Obama will stay at the Lotte New York Palace, a few blocks away. The Secret Service was concerned about the possibility of spying by the Chinese, and decided to take the precaution of having the president and his aides sleep elsewhere, administration officials said.

The absence of the Americans has created more space for delegations from other countries, and on Saturday diplomats from India, Pakistan and several African countries, passed through the lobby.

So far, little at the hotel has changed. Hilton Worldwide, which sold the hotel to Anbang, has retained a management contract. The heavy wood paneling, the black marble trim and the free-standing antique clock in the lobby remain. Glass faced cabinets display old china and silverware from the hotel’s earlier days. The shoeshine still operates from a small alcove.

At the Peacock Alley restaurant in the lobby, Waldorf salad — a concoction of apples, walnuts and celery invented in the hotel’s kitchens – sits at the top of the menu.

Downstairs, however, Oscar’s Brasserie, an all-American restaurant, has disappeared. In its place, an elegant Chinese restaurant called La Chine, with an all pastel interior, just opened for the exclusive use of Mr. Xi’s delegation.

Qu Junyan, an Anbang executive, who was checking out the finishing touches of the new restaurant, said La Chine would open to the public next month. And New Yorkers should not worry about too many changes during planned renovations for the hotel, she said. “We are keeping all the tradition.”

A Light Lunch With the Vice President

After the formalities of a White House 21 gun salute, and a news conference with American reporters (the questions were not too difficult), Mr. Xi drove to the State Department for a lunch in the elegant Benjamin Franklin Room with about 200 guests.

Mr. Xi had been there before: in 2012 when he was still vice president but on his way to becoming president. Many of the guests were familiar faces to Mr. Xi, including Henry Kissinger and Timothy D. Cook, the chief executive of Apple, who were both with him earlier this week in Seattle.

Just as in 2012, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. introduced Mr. Xi. Mr. Biden insisted relations between China and the United States were in good shape, and the disputes between the countries should not be overstated. After all, he said: “We have differences with our allies.”

Then Mr. Biden could not resist a joke involving Iowa as the first state in the presidential election cycle, a place to build political support.

Mr. Xi has traveled to Muscatine, Iowa, twice, Mr. Biden said. First as a young Communist Party official and then in 2012 as vice president.

Mr. Xi had invited Mr. Biden to join him on the 2012 trip. And in retrospect, he should have gone, Mr. Biden said. “He went and became president and I am still vice president.”

The Chinese leader, a master of Communist Party politics, appeared to understand the American variety. And in response, he smiled.

A Formal Dinner, Preceded by Off-the-Cuff Comments From a Chinese Spokesman

While Presidents Xi Jinping and Obama were ensconced inside Blair House Thursday night for the most important encounter of their summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did something quite revolutionary, if not entirely illuminating.

The director general of the Information Department, Lu Kang, held an on-the-record briefing for reporters from American and foreign news organizations based in Washington. During past visits of Chinese presidents, information from the Chinese has been sparse, and spokesmen were usually elusive. Any briefings were held for the benefit of Chinese reporters, and conducted in Chinese.

Mr. Lu, whose English is fluent and colloquial, spoke before Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama had finished their meeting — billed as an informal affair held in the more relaxed atmosphere of the president’s guesthouse, across the street from the White House. (Though from the photos by the official Chinese agencies, the dinner table looked very formal with handsome silverware, fine china, a chandelier overhead, and microphones at each setting.)

The two men, accompanied by a handful of aides, would hold a free-ranging discussion over dinner like “two friends who know each other quite well,” Mr. Lu said.

A photo released by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, however, showed Mr. Obama at the entrance of Blair House with his arms folded, not the warmest posture. Mr. Xi was beaming.

Since the dinner was still underway when Mr. Lu spoke, and it is not the Chinese official style to talk candidly about disagreements, it was difficult for Mr. Lu to offer anything definitive on the important issues like cybercrime and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Even on the White House announcement that China, the world’s largest polluter, would start a national program in 2017 to limit and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Lu demurred. “Climate change is an area where we did make some good progress in our joint efforts,” he said. But then added: “It’s not for me to make specific comments.”

He swatted away a question about Mr. Xi’s visit being overshadowed by the huge crowds who turned out for Pope Francis. Each leader’s visit had its “own bearing,” Mr. Lu said. Washington accorded Mr. Xi a special honor by announcing the summit meeting early, he said. “It is very rare for the United States government to announce a state visit seven months before.”

Mr. Lu dismissed the street protests in Seattle and Washington against Mr. Xi by Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China. Asked about the group’s religion, Mr. Lu said: “Falun Gong has nothing to do with religion, I can tell you,” adding, “They are liars.”

Would Mr. Lu brief reporters on the agreements announced by Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama at the White House, the most important indicators of what was achieved at a summit that had been months in the making?

Unfortunately not, he said. The schedule was too busy on the only full day of Mr. Xi’s visit to Washington. Mr. Xi and his entourage would fly to New York on Friday night immediately after the black-tie dinner at the White House. That meant the Chinese president would have spent less time in Washington than in Seattle, and that he would stay longer in New York than the nation’s capital.

The brevity seemed another signal of the stress in the relationship between the United States and China.

China’s President Has a Facebook Page, But No One in China Can See It

The world outside China has access to a Facebook page created by the Chinese government to document President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States.

Under strict censorship laws, Facebook is banned in China, so the country’s 600 million Internet users are unable to see the slick posts written in English, and the photographs of a smiling Mr. Xi, all carefully produced by the government propaganda apparatus.

Mr. Xi’s trip is receiving wall-to-wall coverage in China — just not on Facebook — and many of those same photographs will, of course, be splashed across government news media. Among the photographs on the Facebook page are images of Mr. Xi receiving a football jersey from a high school team in Tacoma, Wash., and meeting with American business executives. A video links to Chinese television footage of Mr. Xi at the Boeing manufacturing plant outside Seattle.

The style is reminiscent of the Facebook page of an American presidential candidate.

On Wednesday, Mr. Xi met with Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Mr. Zuckerberg spoke Mandarin to the apparent pleasure of the Chinese leader. Did Mr. Zuckerberg bluntly ask for entry into the Chinese market? Not clear. But he has shown Mr. Xi the favor of a link from his own popular Facebook page.

A Chat in Chinese with Mark Zuckerberg, as Tech Giants Jostle for Face Time

Microsoft put a lot into the Xi Jinping’s two day visit in Seattle. At an opening banquet, Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, and Bill Gates sat on either side of Mr. Xi’s top aide, Li Zhanshu, a positioning probably more favorable for garnering influence than sitting next to Mr. Xi himself.

The company spent weeks planning Mr. Xi's campus visit for a tour of their new products, and a day long Internet forum hosted by Microsoft and the Chinese for top tech executives. And, of course, Mr. Gates and Mr. Nadella escorted Mr. Xi around the products, and the campus, another chance for influence.

Microsoft has plenty of problems in China. Its operating systems are the most popular in China, but they are also the most likely to be stolen, causing billions of dollars in losses. And Chinese government bans on procurement of Windows 8 causes further losses. Microsoft recently released Windows 10 and is awaiting government approval in China. Will the company's hospitality to Mr. Xi, and his powerful Internet czar, help clear the way for Windows 10?

Facebook is now shut out of China, with its irresistible market of 600 million internet users, creating a black spot in Mark Zuckerberg’s dream of making Facebook a global social network. Will Facebook end up being the biggest beneficiary of face time with Mr. Xi? Mr. Zuckerberg spoke with the president in Mandarin for what seemed like at least a minute when Mr. Xi greeted him before photos with tech industry leaders at Microsoft. (It was an elite crowd that included Apple’s Timothy D. Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and IBM’s Virginia Rometty)

From where reporters were standing in the back of the room, Mr. Zuckerberg’s chat was more than a cursory ‘ni hao' and we could hear the distinct sounds of Mr. Zuckerberg’s accent floating to the back of the room. But we couldn’t decipher what he was saying. Did he just ask Mr. Xi outright for entry in the market?

Mr. Zuckerberg posted a photo of his big moment talking to Mr. Xi on his Facebook page. It was the first time, he had talked to a world leader entirely in a foreign language, a “meaningful milestone,” he said. The post got more than half a million likes, including from China’s state media, Global Times and Xinhua (despite the national ban).

Who will reap the most out of close proximity, the China insider, Microsoft, or the outsider, Facebook?

Not Wanting to Compete With Pope Francis, Xi Jinping Lingers in Seattle

President Xi Jinping of China has chosen a leisurely takeoff time of 9 a.m. from Seattle to Washington on Thursday. While he seemed to have had a good time here, his affection for the city is not the reason for lingering.

In Washington, a more popular leader, Pope Francis , addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday morning. Mr. Xi’s handlers wanted to make sure that Francis, referred to as the " rock star " pope, had left the capital before Mr. Xi landed around 5 p.m.

That does not leave the Chinese leader much time to prepare for what could be a prickly working dinner with President Obama at the White House. Aides say the discussions could be intense on some of the top issues between the two nations, like cybersecurity .

Even though Mr. Xi was eager to leave space between himself and the pope, Beijing’s relations with the Vatican under Francis are relatively warmer than in the past.

The two men were elected to their jobs in March 2013. “I sent a letter to President Xi Jinping when he was elected, three days after me,” Francis told the Catholic News Agency. “And he replied to me.”

Francis has made other overtures. And when he flew to South Korea last year, he was granted permission by the Chinese to use their airspace, a small sign of good will by Mr. Xi.

The pope has expressed a desire to visit China, but so far no word from Mr. Xi.

Since the Communist Party took power in 1949, the Vatican has had no formal relations with China. The Roman Catholic Church is divided into an “official” church known as the “patriotic association,” answerable to the Communist Party, and an underground church that swears allegiance only to the pope.

China has 12 million Catholics, far fewer people than the estimated 90 million members of the Communist Party.

Mr. Xi and his aides will most likely watch closely how the pope is received in Congress.

In the spring, when the Chinese were planning Mr. Xi’s trip to Washington, some midlevel officials asked about the possibility of Mr. Xi addressing a joint meeting of Congress, a high honor, and one that was accorded to Shinzo Abe , the prime minister of Japan, this year.

The inquirers were politely told — given China’s position as more rival than friend — that it was not a practical proposition.

China’s Leader Tries Hard to Improve Relations With U.S. Tech Industry

On the second day of his state visit to the United States, President Xi Jinping went all out to try to improve scratchy relations with the American tech industry and to show that the huge market in China was essential for American business.

The lure of China’s Internet market – it has 600 million users – was evident in just one photo opportunity. The titans of tech lined up in a reception room for about 20 minutes, cooling their heels as they waited for Mr. Xi to complete a tour of some of Microsoft’s new products.

When Mr. Xi arrived in the room, Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, which is shut out of China, was first in line to greet him.

Mr. Zuckerberg began chatting in Mandarin with Mr. Xi, who seemed to understand him and laughed at one point. (This was not the first time Mr. Zuckerberg has used Mandarin in public; last year, he addressed students at a Beijing university in the language.)

Whether Mr. Zuckerberg’s diligence in learning Mandarin will improve his chances of persuading Mr. Xi and his Internet czar, Lu Wei, that the time has arrived for Facebook in China is a favorite parlor game in Beijing.

Mr. Xi shook hands with Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Virginia M. Rometty of IBM, Timothy D. Cook of Apple and John T. Chambers of Cisco Systems. Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, Brian M. Krzanich of Intel, Steven Mollenkopf of Qualcomm and Satya Nadella of Microsoft were also present.

Some Chinese tech executives – including Jack Ma, head of Alibaba, and Liu Qiangdong of JD.com – were also among the guests.

The Americans were there only for the photo with Mr. Xi; none of them made formal comments.

Mr. Xi was not expected to speak to the group either.

But a podium suddenly appeared, Mr. Xi’s chief of protocol made sure it was in order, and Mr. Xi addressed the group about the importance of the Internet.

The Internet can expand in China, Mr. Xi said, but this must happen in line with “national realities.”

Or, in more direct English, censorship.

Xi Jinping to Meet With Elite Business Leaders

A select group of 30 handpicked American and Chinese business executives meet with President Xi Jinping at his hotel in Seattle Wednesday morning for a fairly intimate round table discussion organized by the Paulson Institute.

The American participants include a stellar cast of chief executives, including: Mary T. Barra of General Motors, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, Timothy D. Cook of Apple, Robert A. Iger of the Walt Disney Company and Indra K. Nooyi of PepsiCo.

On the Chinese side: Jack Ma of Alibaba, Yang Yuanqing of Lenovo, Zhang Yaqin of Baidu and Tian Guoli of Bank of China.

The Americans have different stories to tell. Mr. Cook of Apple can brag about sales of iPhones in China now exceeding those in the United States. In contrast, Ms. Barra of G.M. is not happy about the slide in China’s car market and the 4.8 percent decline in sales in August compared to the same period a year earlier.

Three of the Americans – Mr. Iger representing entertainment; Virginia M. Rometty, chief executive of IBM, from tech; and Andrew N. Liveris of the Dow Chemical Company – have been asked to address Mr. Xi.

Disney is on a definite upswing in China. After a 20-year courtship of the government, the company opened its first Disney Store in May in the Pudong district of Shanghai, and its first theme park, a $5.5 billion Disneyland, is scheduled to open in Shanghai next spring.

Although Disney is not as affected by the censorship that keeps a lot of American movies out of China, an open question is whether Mr. Iger will suggest to Mr. Xi that the restrictions be lifted.

Like all movie companies, Disney would like the economics on box office grosses changed. Hollywood gets a 25 percent cut on most movies that open in China, compared to 50 percent elsewhere.

A big question is how much these corporate leaders will push Mr. Xi to make doing business in China more to their liking.

president xi visit

China’s Leader Pledges to Work With U.S. on Fighting Cybercrimes

President Xi Jinping of China pledged in a speech in Seattle on Tuesday evening to work with the United States on fighting cybercrimes, saying that the Chinese government was a staunch defender of cybersecurity.

“The Chinese government will not in whatever form engage in commercial theft, and hacking against government networks are crimes that must be punished in accordance with the law and relevant international treaties,” Mr. Xi said.

On his first day of a state visit to the United States, Mr. Xi told an audience of American and Chinese business leaders: “China is ready to set up a high-level joint dialogue mechanism with the United States on fighting cybercrimes.”

Mr. Xi was seeking to impress the business audience, with many of those present from the tech industry, but how far his words would be believed in Washington, and in the business community, was not clear.

President Obama's senior national security advisers told reporters in Washington in an on-the-record briefing Tuesday that there would be “very robust” discussions with Mr. Xi on cybersecurity and economic issues.

On a lighter note, Mr. Xi drew applause from the audience when he showed off his knowledge of American culture. His sweeping campaign against corrupt officials in the Communist Party was not a purge, he said.

“In this case, there is no House of Cards,” he said, to laughs from the more than 600 people in the ballroom at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.

There were murmurs of appreciation about his reading of American classics by Thomas Paine, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Jack London.

He particularly liked Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea,” and recalled tracking down a bar in Cuba where Hemingway drank and ordering a mojito.

A longtime China hand, Stephen Orlins, the president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, a sponsor of the dinner, said Mr. Xi won points for projecting his personal tastes.

“His fondness for Hemingway and going to the bar in Cuba were successful attempts to tell us who he is and what makes him tick,” Mr. Orlins said.

  • Cybersecurity
“At present, all economies are facing difficulties, and our economy is also under downward pressure, but this is only a problem in the course of progress. We will take coordinated steps to achieve stable growth.”

President Xi Jinping during a speech in Seattle

President Xi Jinping of China, during a speech in Seattle on Tuesday.

president xi visit

President Xi Jinping of China Arrives in Seattle

President Xi Jinping of China arrived outside Seattle on Tuesday for his first state visit to the United States. Mr. Xi will meet American business executives, including the leaders of Microsoft and Boeing, while in Seattle before heading to Washington, D.C., where he will be received at the White House with a 21-gun salute and a state dinner.

Mr. Xi traveled on an Air China Boeing 747-400, and landed at Paine Field, adjacent to a Boeing manufacturing base, 30 miles from Seattle. Mr. Xi will visit Boeing on Wednesday. In several years, Boeing expects China to outstrip the United States as its largest customer.

A retinue of Washington state officials led by Gov. Jay Inslee welcomed Mr. Xi and his wife on a sunny clear morning with the first bite of fall weather.

In an unusual gesture, Wang Xining, a diplomat in the press section of the Foreign Ministry, came over to reporters and introduced himself. He had memorized the president’s page-long arrival message, and recited it to us in English.

Another press officer handed out copies of the statement, another unusual move by the Foreign Ministry whose modus operandi is generally guarded.

Mr. Xi extended “sincere greetings and best wishes” to the people of the United States from the “1.3 billion-plus Chinese people.” The language was familiar to those who follow Mr. Xi’s take on United States-China relations.

He repeated his desire to “build a new model of major-country relationship of no-conflict, no-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.”

And then Mr. Wang and his colleague jumped on the press bus with the rest of us for the ride out of the airport.

An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of the governor of Washington. He is Gov. Jay Inslee, not Islee.

  • State Visit Logistics

president xi visit

In Seattle, Xi Aims to Show China Is Still Booming

It was easy for Xi Jinping’s handlers to choose Seattle as the first stop on his journey to America . Mr. Xi wants to demonstrate that China Inc. is still booming despite the slowdown. He probably figures he will get fewer questions in Seattle about his economic decisions, which are raising concerns in American boardrooms, than in the nation's capital, where he arrives on Thursday.

Washington State, the manufacturing base for Boeing, exports more to China than to any other state, and Cosco, the Chinese shipping giant, keeps the Port of Tacoma bustling.

After President Richard M. Nixon landed in Beijing aboard a Boeing 707 in 1972, China became a stellar customer. Now, Boeing is looking to compete for a big share of the expected trillion-dollar market for passenger jets — that’s more than 6,000 new planes for China — in the next 20 years.

Starbucks, another signature Seattle company, has 1,800 stores in China and expects to double that number in the next four years. The company runs into few of the Chinese government’s sensitivities on national security, or the bias toward indigenous firms that hampers the Chinese operations of Seattle's local tech giants, Microsoft and Amazon.

Howard Schultz, chief executive of Starbucks, will be at the head table with Mr. Xi at a banquet for 650 Chinese and American business heavyweights Tuesday night.

Perhaps he will regale Mr. Xi’s entourage with stories about Starbucks's distinctive coffee shops in China. They are roomy, like salons that serve as quiet sanctuaries away from the crowds. People nurse their drinks, chat and work for hours on their computers. There is not much of a grab-and-go culture in China yet.

Mr. Xi won’t sample Starbucks products in Seattle, even at the Roastery , the company’s downtown temple to expensive coffees. Even though the Seattle police are being exceedingly obliging — shutting down parts of the city to traffic for the entire two days Mr. Xi is in town — a visit to the Roastery would be a security nightmare for Chinese officials anxious about protests.

Instead, he will make a sentimental journey to a high school he visited more than 20 years ago as a rising Communist Party official. That will provide the warm photo for the trip: Mr. Xi, the empathetic father figure rather than the nationalistic president.

When Xi’s Father Visited, He Met Mickey Mouse and Wore a Lei

president xi visit

In an era when it was rare for Chinese officials to visit the United States, Xi Jinping's father, a famous army general under Mao Zedong, spent three weeks touring American cities and small towns in 1980.

The trip was organized by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the group that is one of the sponsors of the 650-person dinner where Mr. Xi will speak on Tuesday in Seattle.

Mr. Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, then governor of Guangdong province and an advocate of opening China’s economy, was “warm, open and flexible,” said Jan Berris, vice president of the committee, who traveled with him.

He was game enough to shake the hand of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland and to wear a lei at a Polynesian village in Hawaii.

In 1985, a young Xi Jinping, then a mere county official, visited Muscatine, Iowa , to learn about American agriculture. Few imagined then that the young guy with longish hair and a friendly demeanor would return as the most powerful Chinese leader in generations.

president xi visit

President Xi’s Big Seattle Dinner to Be Held on Eve of Yom Kippur

A dinner for business executives who are paying up to $30,000 a table to listen to China's president, Xi Jinping, deliver a speech in Seattle falls on the eve of Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish year.

In the early planning of Mr. Xi's trip to the United States, the Chinese displayed little awareness that many Jewish business leaders would find it difficult to attend. But gradually, they began to understand, American organizers said.

The date for the speech was not changed. Instead, a compromise was reached.

Xi has agreed to start speaking at 5:56 p.m. on Tuesday and to finish only 20 minutes later, at 6:16 p.m. This will give Jewish members of the audience time to finish eating and then attend services that begin at sundown, at 7:07 p.m. The services will be conducted by a rabbi in a room next to the ballroom of the Westin Hotel.

Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state who has been a familiar face during visits of Chinese leaders to the United States, will introduce Mr. Xi.

But not everyone invited has accepted. Two big supporters of China in the business world, Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, and Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, will not be there. Their expected absence has caused a stir in the business community.

president xi visit

What Xi Jinping’s Trip Says About U.S.-China Relations Today

Many world leaders make Washington their first stop on a state visit to the United States. Not Xi Jinping.

The Chinese selected Seattle for the first two days of the President Xi's trip and have designed an action-packed itinerary to highlight that China Inc. — despite a slowing economy — remains a powerful partner with corporate America.

Mr. Xi will then fly to Washington to meet President Obama at the White House on Sept. 24. His handlers deliberately timed his arrival for the late afternoon, well after Pope Francis , who addresses a joint session of Congress that morning, will have left town.

The Chinese did not want competition with the popular pope. “He’s a rock star,” a Chinese diplomat said of the pontiff.

The first order of business in Washington is a working dinner where Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama will discuss the big issues that bedevil the United State-China relationship: cybertheft , territorial claims in the South China Sea and a new national security law . There are low expectations for any breakthroughs.

The pomp of a 21-gun salute welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn is of uppermost importance for Mr. Xi, who wants his home constituency to see him received by Americans as an important statesman. A state dinner at the White House for Mr. Xi, and his wife, Peng Liyuan, a former opera singer, will add grandeur.

During his visit to New York, Mr. Xi is displacing Mr. Obama from the Waldorf Astoria, traditionally the place where American presidents and hundreds of American diplomats have stayed during the United Nations General Assembly meetings.

A highly connected Chinese company, the Anbang Insurance Group, bought the Waldorf last year. Mr. Xi is scheduled to stay there, just as Chinese leaders have done during previous state visits. But Mr. Obama will bunk elsewhere (the Lotte New York Palace).

Quietly, the Obama administration said Chinese ownership of the Waldorf, which is scheduled for renovations, raised the possibility of espionage against Mr. Obama and his entourage.

The Waldorf matter sums up the state of the two nations' relations in 2015: The two leaders do not trust each other enough to stay under the same roof.

  • South China Sea

CNBC TV18

  • Personal Finance
  • New AI Alliance Pune
  • New Election Exchange
  • New SME Champion Awards
  • New Latest News
  • Live Market Live

CNBC-TV18 Specials

  • Young Turks
  • Mind Matters
  • Climate Clock
  • Marquee Nights
  • Future Female Forward
  • 11:11 Newsletter

CNBC-TV18 Binge

  • Global Markets
  • Cryptocurrency

Terms and Conditions

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins first US trip in six years

State broadcaster china central television said it had sent more than 180 reporters to cover the event in 68 languages..

Profile image

By Bloomberg   Nov 15, 2023 5:10:35 AM IST (Published)

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins first US trip in six years

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live Updates: PM Modi to visit Kerala, hold a roadshow in Hyderabad

News18 opinion poll: bjp-led nda poised for hattrick, to win 411 lok sabha seats, news18 opinion poll: bjp-led nda likely to bag 41 of 48 seats in maharashtra, west bengal chief minister mamata banerjee suffers 'major injury': trinamool congress, share market live.

  • International edition
  • Australia edition
  • Europe edition

The closing meeting of China’s Two Sessions gathering

Xi Jinping didn’t speak at China’s Two Sessions, but it’s clear who is in charge

The meetings showed China’s leader is steering China along a path that is dictated by national security and party control, at the expense of everything else

Xi Jinping didn’t speak at China’s Two Sessions meetings this year, but his presence was still felt.

His name appeared 16 times in the government work report delivered by the Premier Li Qiang, the number two leader, reportedly more than in any other year since Xi took office over a decade ago. Li was clear in noting that credit for China’s achievements in 2023 was owed to Xi and to “the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, Xi’s ideological doctrine .

Journalists registered at this year’s Two Sessions – the first to be fully open to the media since the pandemic – outnumbered the delegates, but engagement with the press was limited and choreographed. The last day of the National People’s Congress (NPC) is normally a chance for the media to meet China’s premier, though this year Li’s press conference was abruptly cancelled without explanation, closing down one of the already limited forums for transparency. Press conferences on the sidelines of the NPC, including with Wang Yi, the top foreign affairs official, largely consisted of scripted answers.

“The cancellation of the press conference suggests Xi’s continuing consolidation of power,” said Ja-Ian Chong, a professor at the National University of Singapore.“Even though previous press conferences were stage managed, not putting Li Qiang on stage avoids any awkward responses given the PRC’s current economic challenges,” he added.

Xi also did not give a keynote speech at the end of the Two Sessions. He didn’t have to.

China’s annual parliamentary session concluded on Monday, with nearly 3,000 delegates to the NPC voting through the government’s plans for the year ahead with characteristically high approval rates.

The carefully stage managed affair brought China’s “Two Sessions” – concurrent meetings of the NPC and the country’s top political advisory body – to a close, with few surprises and a clear signal that the authority of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) is tighter than ever.

Since the end of China’s zero-Covid regime over one year ago, Xi has been steering the world’s second-largest economy along a path that is increasingly dictated by national security and party control at the expense of everything else.

Chinese President Xi Jinping claps at the end of the closing meeting of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.

Of the seven items on the agenda for this year’s meetings, only one concerned legislation. Some 99% of delegates voted to approve an amendment to the State Council organic law, which governs the functioning of China’s cabinet. The government organ will be required to “uphold the leadership of the Communist party of China” as well as following Xi Jinping Thought recognising the authority of the CCP’s central committee.

Scholars of modern China have traditionally understood it as being governed by parallel systems of party and state governance, said Alfred Wu, a professor of Chinese governance at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. “Now under Xi Jinping’s third term it looks very different. It’s very much like the party is the leader, the others are all subordinates,” Wu said.

Changhao Wei, a research fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center and editor of the NPC Observer website , said the amendment was an act of “memorialising a de facto practice”. “The party leadership of all institutions has strengthened since Xi Jinping took office,” Wei said.

That continues a trend that has been in motion since 2018, when the NPC voted to amend the constitution, adding a clause that stresses the leadership of the CCP, and removing a clause which said the president and the vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms”. The latter amendment paved the way for Xi to take a norm-busting third term as president, which he started last year.

Along with his position at the top of the CCP and the military, it makes him the most powerful leader in modern Chinese history since Mao Zedong . Although he was quiet at this year’s parliamentary gathering, no one doubts who is in charge.

Additional research by Chi Hui Lin

Most viewed

  • Sustainability
  • Latest News
  • News Reports
  • Documentaries & Shows
  • TV Schedule
  • CNA938 Live
  • Radio Schedule
  • Singapore Parliament
  • Mental Health
  • Interactives
  • Entertainment
  • Style & Beauty
  • Experiences
  • Remarkable Living
  • Send us a news tip
  • Events & Partnerships
  • Business Blueprint
  • Health Matters
  • The Asian Traveller

Trending Topics

Follow our news, recent searches, xi jinping: china’s president of precedents and new norms, but at what cost, advertisement.

The canning of the premier’s press conference at the two sessions is the latest in a series of precedent-setting steps taken under President Xi Jinping since he took power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Mar 4, 2024. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)

This audio is AI-generated.

Wong Woon Shin

president xi visit

Lakeisha Leo

SINGAPORE: A signature event will be conspicuously missing when China’s most important annual political meetings come to a close on Monday (Mar 11) - Premier Li Qiang will not be speaking to the press.

Since 1993, the premier’s press conference has capped the two sessions, allowing international media a rare chance to put questions to one of China’s senior leaders. 

The premier is usually ranked second or at least third in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) apex Politburo Standing Committee.

Also, the press event offers the outside world a window into the leader’s priorities and personality.

But three decades of tradition have been upended with Monday’s announcement that the meet-the-press session would be scrapped this year and likely till 2027.

While the move came as a surprise, it’s but the latest in a series of precedent-breaking steps taken under President Xi Jinping’s watch since he emerged as China’s supremo in 2012.

As Mr Xi - who heads the CCP, the military and the state - rewrites China’s rulebook, analysts say a consolidation of power is among the key objectives.

“The trajectory of Xi overseeing everything is now the norm,” political scientist Chong Ja Ian at the National University of Singapore (NUS) told CNA.

This state of play - where power is centralised under Mr Xi - is a double-edged sword, China scholars note. While it means Mr Xi can move at speed and mobilise government resources to tackle issues he deems important, it could also diminish initiative at other levels of government in resolving problems.

THE PRESIDENT OF PRECEDENTS

Topping the list of norm-shattering actions was Mr Xi formally being handed a historic third presidential term at last year’s two sessions, cementing his status as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

The roughly 3,000 members of the National People’s Congress voted unanimously for him in an election in which there was no other candidate.

It was the latest feather in a packed cap that saw Mr Xi securing a record third term as CCP head months before.

The road to the 2023 milestone had already been paved five years back when a long-established two-term limit was abolished from the constitution, effectively allowing Mr Xi to remain in office indefinitely.

president xi visit

Analysis: Chinese premier's canned press event and maiden report card - what clues do they reveal about China?

president xi visit

Why ‘two sessions’ may give China a chance to tie up loose ends after purges

The move scrubbed what former top leader Deng Xiaoping had inscribed 36 years ago, six years after Mao Zedong’s death, to institutionalise leadership succession and avoid a return to one-man rule.

At the same time that term limits were done away with in 2018, Mr Xi’s political theories were enshrined in China’s state constitution.

Known as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, it had been threaded into the CCP charter a year back.

This effectively placed Mr Xi in similar halls as Deng and Mao, both of whom had their names included in their banner terms.

The pet ideologies of other former Chinese supremos such as Jiang Zemin’s “Three Represents” and Mr Hu Jintao’s “Scientific Outlook on Development” were added to the party constitution as well, but not with their names.

“The inclusion of Xi's thought into the country's fundamental law reflects the common aspiration of the entire Party and all Chinese people of various ethnic groups,” said senior legislator Shen Chunyao at the time.

SHATTERING PRECEDENTS

Even before this, President Xi had, in a way, already been placed on par with the two late paramount leaders.

He was proclaimed the CCP’s “core” leader in a formal document during a top-level party meeting in 2016, solidifying his authority and influence. This description was previously applied to Mao and Deng, as well as the late former leader Jiang.

Mr Xi’s standing was further burnished at the 20th Party Congress six years on when his “core position” in the Central Committee was endorsed.

The quinquennial event saw traditions being broken by Mr Xi, such as a longstanding de facto age cap for top officials known as “qi shang ba xia” (directly translated to “seven up eight down”).

The unwritten rule means that those 67 years old or younger on the day of the party congress can stay on or take up new positions, while those 68 or above have to retire.

This ended up being shattered when a handful of those past the threshold were retained, such as top military general Zhang Youxia (72 at the time) and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (69 at the time).

president xi visit

From Xi's historic third term to leadership reshuffle: Key highlights from China's Communist Party congress

president xi visit

Xi Jinping’s third term: 10 years of his China Dream and beyond

Mr Xi himself led the way, being 69 years old as he was reappointed party chief for a third time at the 2022 event.

At the same time, the lineup of the Politburo, the second-highest decision-making body in the party, raised eyebrows. It shrank by one seat to 24, with no woman in the group for the first time in 25 years after Vice Premier Sun Chunlan bowed out.

The makeup of the Politburo’s elite seven-member standing committee also generated discussion, with analysts and commentators noting that those appointed are close allies of Mr Xi, sharing extensive career overlaps or prior ties.

For example, three of the men - Premier Li Qiang, chief of staff Cai Qi and anti-corruption watchdog head Li Xi - are part of the so-called “New Zhijiang Army” who worked under Mr Xi in Zhejiang province during his political ascent.

The reinvigoration of leading small groups (LSG), or “ling dao xiao zu”, has also been observed under Mr Xi. These CCP constructs operate above and beyond formal party and state structures and determine policy guidance for government channels, according to a 2020 article published by the US-based think tank Jamestown Foundation.

A 2017 analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated just over 80 of these groups in operation. About 30 were created under Mr Xi’s watch, the report stated.

The groups have become far more centralised under Mr Xi, according to the Jamestown Foundation article, which added that the Chinese leader personally chairs at least half of the currently operating major committees.

POWER TO THE PERSON

The multiple breaks with tradition are part of Mr Xi’s drive to consolidate power under the CCP with him at the helm, say analysts.

“It seems that Xi is doing what he deems necessary to further centralise power and secure his legacy of making China great in both domestic and external arenas,” ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute senior fellow Lye Liang Fook told CNA. 

Legislation has even been amended to this effect. For instance, recently passed revisions to China’s state secrets law have inserted a clause mandating adherence to the leadership of the party in protecting state secrets.

president xi visit

Commentary: Xi cements power at Chinese Communist Party congress, but is still exposed on the economy

president xi visit

How is China's Communist Party changing its constitution?

A similar clause requiring adherence to the CCP’s leadership as well as safeguarding the authority of the party’s Central Committee has been included under draft amendments to another piece of legislation, the State Council Organic Law.

The revision to this law would be the first since it was adopted in 1982 when the current state Constitution was formulated, reported state news agency Global Times.

“These centralising moves are now the precedent,” Dr Chong, who is an associate professor at NUS’ Department of Political Science, told CNA.

“They mean that Xi has oversight over all major developments and all decisions go through him, for better or worse.”

GETTING THINGS DONE

Analysts agree that there are merits to the ruling party and the president’s outsized influence in the world’s second-largest economy, home to some 1.4 billion people.

It allows Mr Xi to decide and move at speed on issues he considers important, said Mr Lye from ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute.

Taking the ailing property sector as an example, Mr Lye, who specialises in Chinese politics, referred to how China took “relatively quick action” to ease the pressure.

The industry powers about a quarter of the country’s economy, according to a China Daily report in January. But it has been under mounting strain from a debt crisis, falling prices and oversupply of homes.

Since last year, Beijing has rolled out a series of measures to arrest the slide. Among the steps taken was authorising banks to extend loans to a whitelist of property projects.

president xi visit

What does Evergrande’s liquidation mean for other property developers in China?

Separately, a sweeping anti-corruption effort driven by President Xi since taking power more than a decade ago has sustained its momentum, standing out both for its sweeping reach and how far up the ranks it has stretched.

The highest-profile casualty was Zhou Yongkang, who was brought down early on in the graft-busting effort. Before his downfall in 2012, he was a Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) member and national security chief. 

Zhou’s case shattered the taboo against investigating retired members of the PSC, breaking an unspoken rule - known in Chinese as “xing bu shang chang wei” - of letting them enjoy their golden years in peace.

More recently, in terms of the numbers, the Global Times reported in 2022 that the anti-graft watchdog had punished some 4.7 million people as of April that year.

That the anti-corruption drive has endured till now is a testament to Mr Xi’s growing influence over the party and state, say analysts.

From the perspective of the party elite, the political status quo also affords more stability, Dr Lim Tai Wei, an adjunct senior fellow at NUS’ East Asian Institute, told CNA.

“(To them), there is certainty in the command structures, and less avenue for alternative lobbying capacity or rival factional strife,” added Dr Lim.

A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD?

But centralising power under the party and Mr Xi is a double-edged sword, observers note.

“In some ways, looking at the People’s Republic of China politics is easier. It is all about Xi,” said NUS’ Dr Chong.

“However, that also means decision-making processes are more opaque and subject to the whims of one person.”

Similarly, Mr Lye from ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute told CNA the moves have made it more challenging to access or understand China's politics and policies, especially for the outside world.

“Issues which can be readily understood or addressed by approaching it from a purely technocratic or problem-solving approach have now given way to a higher order priority that includes maintaining the Party's primacy in various fields and upholding national security,” he added.

president xi visit

Dramatic ouster of Qin Gang underscores ‘uncertainty, lack of transparency’ in China’s political system: Analysts

Pointing out that the line between party and state has become increasingly blurred, Mr Lye noted a potential impact on troubleshooting national challenges.

“With the party intruding into government work areas, (this) would likely make it difficult for technocrats, who are regarded as the real subject matter experts, to take practical measures and actions.”

As the party-state divide narrows further, Mr Lye said it could result in CCP-driven remedies being administered to existing socio-economic challenges, which are “seemingly best left to subject matter experts to handle”.

“In the best-case scenario, such remedies may result in a quick and temporary redress.

“(But) there is also a possibility that they could just be pushing the can down the road, resulting in deeper and far-reaching consequences later.”

Either way, experts expect more traditions to topple as authority and influence continue to be consolidated under President Xi.

“(China) has evolved from a Maoist system to a collective leadership system with a paramount leader and now to a core leader, strongman centralised system,” NUS’ Dr Lim told CNA.

At some point, Xi’s moves to centralise power lose their “unprecedented” nature, said Dr Chong.

“Centralising authority around Xi is no longer rule-breaking.”

Related Topics

Also worth reading, this browser is no longer supported.

We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.

To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app.

Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us

China's President Xi to visit Vietnam, looking to build on ties

"Senior Chinese Leader Event" on the sidelines of the APEC summit, in San Francisco

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christopher Cushing

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Stephanie Mbafumoja, a Congolese law student holds her voter identity card in L'avenue de L'itav in Butembo

Thousands in Israel protest for hostages release, conscription of ultra-Orthodox

Thousands in Israel took to the streets on Thursday in two separate protests, one demanding an immediate release of hostages from Gaza and another calling for drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the military.

European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels

president xi visit

U.S., Japan conduct joint military exercises amid high tensions with China

president xi visit

Taiwan joins China in search and rescue mission after fishing boat capsizes

president xi visit

Deadly explosion at fried chicken shop in China caught on camera

president xi visit

China’s parliament ends with endorsing President Xi Jinping's agenda

president xi visit

U.S. continues to hold 'incorrect perceptions' of China, foreign minister says

president xi visit

Philippines blames China's coast guard for South China Sea collision

president xi visit

China scraps premier's annual news conference for first time in 30 years

president xi visit

Growing security concern over Chinese-made smart cars

president xi visit

Eyewitness video shows 100-car pile-up on Chinese expressway

president xi visit

Video shows partial bridge collapse after ship collision in China

president xi visit

Lessons learned about Ukraine need to be applied to Taiwan, Rep. Gallagher says

president xi visit

Freezing weather hampers China's Lunar New Year getaway

president xi visit

FBI director: US cannot ‘sleep’ on Chinese cyberattack danger

president xi visit

U.S., China hold talks on limiting fentanyl flow to U.S.

president xi visit

China cites U.S. demand as a top concern ahead of talks on fentanyl smuggling

president xi visit

U.S. and Chinese officials to resume talks on stopping the fentanyl crisis

president xi visit

U.S. government warns against sending genetic testing data to China

president xi visit

Video shows a huge scar on mountainside after a landslide hits a village in China

president xi visit

China reveals big drop in birth rate

president xi visit

Taiwan's high-stakes presidential election expected to have global implications

China’s parliament ends with endorsing president xi jinping's agenda.

China’s National People's Congress concluded its annual session on Monday with the usual show of near-unanimous support for plans designed to carry out ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's vision for the nation. March 11, 2024

Best of NBC News

president xi visit

NBC News Channel

Teens in massachusetts charged in racial bullying incident.

president xi visit

NBC News NOW

*nsync reunites at justin timberlake's l.a. concert.

president xi visit

Haitian Americans fearing for relatives amid violence in homeland

president xi visit

California family survives small plane crash after deploying plane parachute

president xi visit

Meet the 56-year-old blind skateboarder defying odds

president xi visit

Nightly News Netcast

Nightly news full broadcast (march 14th).

  • Election 2024
  • Entertainment
  • Newsletters
  • Photography
  • Press Releases
  • Israel-Hamas War
  • Russia-Ukraine War
  • Global elections
  • Asia Pacific
  • Latin America
  • Middle East
  • AP Top 25 College Football Poll
  • Movie reviews
  • Book reviews
  • Financial Markets
  • Business Highlights
  • Financial wellness
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Social Media

China’s congress ends with a show of unity behind Xi’s vision for national greatness

Chinese President Xi Jinping adjusts his jacket as he stands to sing the national anthem at the closing session of the National People's Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping adjusts his jacket as he stands to sing the national anthem at the closing session of the National People’s Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, top right, applauds as he leaves after the closing session of the National People’s Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping as delegates attend the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping as leaders and delegates stand for national anthem during the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping takes a seat as he arrives to the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, applauds with leaders and delegates after attending the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom center, waves to delegates as he leaves the hall after attending the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a big screen during the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, in Beijing, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The CPPCC is an advisory body to the National People’s Congress which will close Monday. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his Premier Li Qiang, second right in the middle, leave the hall after attending the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A Chinese paramilitary policeman salutes as delegates leave in buses from the Great Hall of the People after the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Delegates press buttons to vote during the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, and his Premier Li Qiang, center right, arrive to the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, press a button to vote as Premier Li Qiang looks on during the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Delegates applaud as Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom, arrives to the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A Chinese paramilitary policeman watch as delegates leave in buses from the Great Hall of the People after the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping presses a button to vote on work reports during the closing session of the National People’s Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Delegates arrive for the closing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A man takes photos near red flags on Tiananmen Square before the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The CPPCC is an advisory body to the National People’s Congress which will close Monday. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Delegates leave after the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The CPPCC is an advisory body to the National People’s Congress which will close Monday. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

  • Copy Link copied

BEIJING (AP) — China’s national legislature wrapped up its annual session Monday with the usual show of near-unanimous support for plans designed to carry out ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s vision for the nation.

The weeklong event, replete with meetings carefully scripted to allow no surprises, has highlighted how China’s politics have become ever more calibrated to elevate Xi.

Monday’s agenda lacked the usual closing news conference by the premier, the party’s No. 2 leader. The news conference has been held most years since 1988 and was the one time when journalists could directly question a top Chinese leader.

The decision to scrap it emphasizes Premier Li Qiang’s relatively weak status. His predecessors played a much larger role in leading key economic policies such as modernizing state companies, coping with economic crises and leading housing reforms that transformed China into a nation of homeowners.

Delegates sing the national anthem during during the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The nearly 3,000-member National People’s Congress approved a revised State Council law that directs China’s version of the cabinet to follow Xi’s vision. The vote was 2,883 to eight, with nine abstentions. Other measures passed by similarly wide margins. The most nays were recorded for the annual report of the supreme court, which was approved by a 2,834 to 44 vote.

In brief closing remarks, Zhao Leji, the legislature’s top official, urged the people to unite more closely under the Communist Party’s leadership “with comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”

The party leaders who run the State Council used to have a much freer hand in setting economic policy, Neil Thomas, a Chinese politics fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said in an emailed comment.

“Xi has been astonishingly successful in consolidating his personal hold over the party, which has allowed him to become the key decisionmaker in all policy domains,” he said.

As the party champions innovation and self-reliance in technology to build a modern, wealthy economy, it is leaning heavily on more overtly communist ideology that harkens to past eras. Xi has fortified the party’s role across the spectrum, from culture and education to corporate management and economic planning.

“Greater centralization of power has arguably helped Xi to improve central government effectiveness,” Thomas said, “but the benefits may be outweighed by the costs of stifling political discussion, disincentivizing local innovation and more sudden policy shifts.”

Along with following the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought and other party directives, developing “new quality productive forces” — a term coined by Xi last September — emerged as a catchphrase at this year’s congress.

The term suggests a prioritizing of science and technology as China confronts trade sanctions and curbs on access to advanced know-how in computer chips and other areas that the U.S. and other countries deem to be national security risks.

On the diplomatic front, China kept Wang Yi as foreign minister. He had stepped back into the post last summer after his successor, Qin Gang, was abruptly dismissed without explanation after a half-year on the job.

Analysts thought the Communist Party might use the annual congress to appoint a new foreign minister and close the book on an unusual spate of political mishaps last year that also saw the firing of a new defense minister after a few months on the job.

The Organic Law of the State Council was revised for the first time since its adoption in 1982. The revision calls for the State Council to “uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China.” It also adds the governor of China’s central bank to the body.

Echoing words seen in just about every proposal, law or speech made in China these days, it spells out that China’s highest governing officials must adhere to the party’s guiding ideology, which refers back to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought and culminates in Xi’s philosophy on “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”

Alfred Wu, an expert on Chinese governance at the National University of Singapore, said the revision institutionalizes previously made changes, making it harder to reverse them. He described the congress as a “one-man show” that shows Xi’s determination to create a system in which the party leads on policy, diminishing the role of the State Council and the legislature.

“His determination is very clear,” Wu said. “He is willing to change everything.”

During this year’s congress, many provincial meetings were opened to the media for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, though they were carefully scripted with prepared remarks and none of the spontaneity once glimpsed in decades past.

The contrast with polarized politics in the U.S. and robust debate in other democracies could not be more stark: China’s political rituals, void of any overt dissent, put unity above all.

Marching orders endorsed by the congress include calls to ensure national security and social stability at a time when job losses and underpayment of wages have sparked a growing number of protests.

Associated Press researchers Wanqing Chen and Yu Bing contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

ELAINE KURTENBACH

president xi visit

President Joe Biden to visit Phoenix the day of Arizona’s presidential preference election

P resident Joe Biden will visit Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of an effort to mobilize voters in battleground states, his campaign told The Arizona Republic.

His two-day visit will coincide with Arizona’s presidential preference election on Tuesday, March 19. 

The trip comes as Biden faces a protest vote effort from Arizona progressives over his handling of Israel’s military actions in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and a week after he and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties' 2024 nominations with wins in Tuesday's round of primary elections.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

Arizona is considered one of the most competitive states in this year’s presidential election. In 2020, Biden defeated his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, in Arizona by less than half a percentage point. 

Biden’s campaign has for months been working to replicate that success this year, building out a campaign apparatus in Arizona and sending a parade of White House surrogates through the Grand Canyon State.

Harris visited Flagstaff in October as part of a tour to mobilize young voters, and she delivered a speech in Phoenix last week to criticize Republican-led efforts to restrict abortion. Biden himself visited Tempe in September to announce a new library honoring the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. First lady Jill Biden visited Tucson earlier this month for an event centered on abortion rights.

Biden's visit to Arizona next week is part of a month-long tour that will send the president, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff through battleground states, according to a statement from the Biden campaign.

Last week alone, that tour took the president through Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. He will visit Michigan on Thursday.

The campaign did not release additional details about the focus or agenda of Biden’s visit.

Laura Gersony covers national politics for the Arizona Republic. Reach her at [email protected] or 480-372-0389.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: President Joe Biden to visit Phoenix the day of Arizona’s presidential preference election

President Joe Biden speaks on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club in Milwaukee.

IMAGES

  1. Xi makes historic visit to the Philippines

    president xi visit

  2. President Xi visit helped showcase Washington state as world-class

    president xi visit

  3. China's President Xi sends congratulatory message to North Korea leader

    president xi visit

  4. Chinese President Xi Jinping begins key US state visit

    president xi visit

  5. Chinese President Xi Jinping ceremonially welcomed in the Buckingham

    president xi visit

  6. Chinese President Xi makes state visit to Vietnam

    president xi visit

COMMENTS

  1. China's Xi returns to a much warier US for Biden meeting, APEC summit

    Xi, who is set to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Franscisco and meet with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines, will find himself arriving in an America...

  2. Joe Biden meets Xi Jinping in California: seven key takeaways

    Xi Jinping and Joe Biden walk in the gardens at the Filoli Estate Photograph: Doug Mills/AP 3. China will curb the production of fentanyl-related products. Biden and Xi agreed China would stem the ...

  3. Highlights: Joe Biden and Xi Jinping talk military cooperation, climate

    Live updates and latest news coverage on the meeting between US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping. ... year in protest of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan ...

  4. Biden meets with China's President Xi

    President Joe Biden raised concerns of China's "human rights abuses" in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong during his nearly four-hour-long talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday,...

  5. Biden meets with China's President Xi

    US President Joe Biden shakes hands with President Xi Jinping of China on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Pool. President Joe Biden has welcomed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for their summit ...

  6. China's Xi in US for high-stakes Biden summit, APEC

    SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping began his first visit to the United States in six years on Tuesday, after President Joe Biden said he aimed to restore normal...

  7. 'No detail too small': How the U.S. and China planned President Xi's visit

    Xi last visited the U.S. in 2017, when he went to Florida to meet with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Xi last spoke with Biden a year ago this week at a meeting in Bali,...

  8. Xi Gears Up for Long-Awaited U.S. Trip

    The White House has officially confirmed Chinese President Xi Jinping's first visit to the United States since 2017, although the diplomatic details have yet to be hammered out. Xi will attend ...

  9. China and US pledge to fight climate crisis ahead of Xi-Biden summit

    Xi Jinping arrived in the US for his first visit in six years on Tuesday. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images. One of the most notable features in the climate statement was that both ...

  10. Live updates from Xi visit: Xi greeted by supporters, protesters upon

    Watch: President Xi's arrival. The visit also will help to further establish diplomatic relations between the two nations, Locke said, including seeking common ground on such pressing issues as ...

  11. What China's Xi gained from his Biden meeting

    November 17, 20239:08 AM PSTUpdated 4 months ago Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he walks with U.S. President Joe Biden at Filoli estate on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic...

  12. China's Xi Jinping arrives in US ahead of summit with Joe Biden

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the United States for his first visit in six years, after US President Joe Biden said his goal in their bilateral talks this week was to restore...

  13. Xi-Biden summit: What's on the agenda for China's leader as ...

    Hong Kong (CNN) — Xi Jinping arrived in San Fransisco on Tuesday for a highly anticipated summit with US President Joe Biden — where the Chinese leader will likely try to bolster his country's...

  14. U.S. Manages Expectations of a Breakthrough Before Biden and Xi Meet

    (Mr. Xi's aides have good reason to worry about the details of a meeting with an American president: In a 2006 visit to the White House, President Hu Jintao's speech at a welcoming ceremony on ...

  15. 4 takeaways from President Biden's 'very blunt' meeting with China's Xi

    Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images. NUSA DUA, Indonesia — A highly anticipated meeting between China's leader Xi Jinping and President Biden finished Monday with both leaders expressing an openness to ...

  16. How big a deal is meeting between Biden, Xi? Pretty big

    It's his first visit to the U.S. since a 2017 meeting with then-President Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. On Wednesday, Xi is expected to sit down with President Biden for their first face-to-face meeting in a year.

  17. Xi Jinping's U.S. Visit

    Xi Jinping's U.S. Visit By Jane Perlez Jane Perlez, The New York Times's chief diplomatic correspondent, followed China's president, Xi Jinping, and documented key moments of his first...

  18. U.S.-China tensions on display as Xi arrives in San Francisco for Biden

    Chinese President Xi Jinping began his first visit to the United States in six years on Tuesday just after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing by stressing ...

  19. China, Vietnam hail upgrade of ties; agree to boost security efforts

    HANOI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - China and Vietnam agreed to step up co-operation on security matters in their move towards becoming a community with a "shared future", they said on Wednesday, as Chinese...

  20. Chinese President Xi Jinping begins first US trip in six years

    By Bloomberg Nov 15, 2023 5:10:35 AM IST (Published) 5 Min Read President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in San Francisco for a high-stakes meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden, as the city steps up security ahead of the Asian leader's first visit to the US in six years.

  21. Chinese President Xi's 'siren call' to US business hits ...

    SAN FRANCISCO — Chinese President Xi Jinping is using his first trip to the U.S. in six years to try and lure back American investors and businesses spooked by his country's authoritarian turn.

  22. Xi Jinping didn't speak at China's Two Sessions, but it's clear who is

    Xi Jinping didn't speak at China's Two Sessions meetings this year, but his presence was still felt. His name appeared 16 times in the government work report delivered by the Premier Li Qiang ...

  23. Analysis: Xi signals shift in tone for China on US

    Chinese leader Xi Jinping presented an amicable China ready to improve ties with the United States in a landmark meeting with US President Joe Biden Wednesday, marking a noticeable shift in...

  24. Xi Jinping: China's president of precedents and new norms, but at what

    Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Mar 4, 2024.

  25. Next stop: Serbia? Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to visit

    Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to visit Europe on trust-building tour. Amid strain over Ukraine war, China-US tension and trade rows, analyst says a potential Europe trip by Xi may help two ...

  26. China's President Xi to visit Vietnam, looking to build on ties

    BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam on Dec. 12-13 to meet top state officials and discuss upgrading the two countries' relations, the Chinese foreign...

  27. China's parliament ends session endorsing President Xi's agenda

    China's National People's Congress concluded its annual session on Monday with the usual show of near-unanimous support for plans designed to carry out ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's ...

  28. China ends congress with a show of unity behind Xi Jinping's vision

    Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a big screen during the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, in Beijing, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The CPPCC is an advisory body to the National People's Congress which will close Monday.

  29. 5 key takeaways from Xi's trip to Saudi Arabia

    Abu Dhabi CNN — Years of progressing ties between oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia and China, an economic giant in the east, this week culminated in a multiple-day state visit by Chinese President...

  30. President Joe Biden to visit Phoenix the day of Arizona's ...

    P resident Joe Biden will visit Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of an effort to mobilize voters in battleground states, his campaign told The Arizona Republic.. His two-day visit will ...