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It will be the third meeting between the leaders of the two largest economies in the world and the second since a significant round of icebreaker talks in California a year ago.
According to US officials, Saturday’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the APEC summit in Peru will probably be their final meeting before Donald Trump takes the White House again.
It will be the third meeting between the leaders of the two largest economies in the world and the second since a significant round of icebreaker talks in California a year ago.
According to a senior US administration official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, “We expect this will be their last meeting as presidents.”
“In light of that, we anticipate that the president will utilise the occasion to assess efforts to manage competition responsibly.”
Trump has already signalled a confrontational approach with Beijing for his second term, picking a number of outspoken Chinahawks for key foreign and defence positions in his top team.
The Republican’s promise to impose 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports has sparked fears of a new trade war.
When asked if he would try to counsel China on how to deal with Trump or if he would counsel Trump on how to deal with China, the Biden administration official would not comment.
According to the official, “this is a difficult, complicated, consequential relationship.”
“We need to find ways to manage the relationship responsibly, as the president has been fairly clear about acknowledging its competitive aspects.”
Biden will make his final appearance at the significant Asia-Pacific economic summit in Lima on Thursday, where he will attend the APEC summit on Friday and Saturday.
Then, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for his last G20 summit, he will become the first US president to visit Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.