It is hoped U.S.-China summit talk will thaw Cold War era

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to have a summit talk this Wednesday on the occasion of the APEC summit in San Francisco, the first one-on-one talk in a year since the G20 summit meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia last November. They are expected to discuss not only bilateral issues such as supply chain controls involving semiconductors and batteries, and Taiwan-related concerns, but also various global challenges, including the conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and Gaza-Israel.

However, there are only low expectations of the meeting making progress even though the two heads of state will first meet in a year. After all, they both wish to restore their relations but find it hard to agree on breakthroughs due to their great differences. Even after they gathered in Bali last year to improve their relations, they ended up with ‘the lost previous year’ amid the growing tension due to the Chinese spy balloon incident. Although they agreed to resume talks in San Francisco, there is still uncertainty in their mutual relations as any stumbling block could be found ahead on the path, which would elevate tension.

Additionally, all the agenda items to be discussed encompass tricky issues. For example, China wants U.S. controls of cutting-edge technologies to be eased. However, President Biden will less likely take a step back given that the presidential election will be held next year. Likewise, the United States seeks to set up guardrails or safety systems to prevent military tension between China and Taiwan in the South China Sea from developing into conflict. The problem is that U.S. military access to nearby waters is the last thing China wants to see. The meeting agenda will also include North Korean nuclear threats, arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow, and other issues related to the Korean Peninsula. President Biden is expected to ask his Chinese counterpart to keep a close watch on North Korea and Russia by fully using its influence over the two neighboring nations. However, it is not sure how President Xi will respond.

Indeed, we live in an era of the highest level of insecurity and uncertainty in history. Amid the U.S.-China strategic competition and the rise of the new Cold War era, opportunist forces have been active enough to turn Europe and the Middle East into battlefields. If rogue nations such as the North Korean regime decide to act recklessly to take such a global face-off as an opportunity to make its presence felt, the world will only be driven into a state of greater chaos. To some degree, the United States and China may inevitably continue to compete against each other. Nevertheless, if they end up in conflict, chaos, or division, the result will be a substantial loss to the two countries and the rest of the world. One of the minimum obligations of the G2 nations is to communicate regularly and work together for the sake of stability in the international order. This explains why the international community looks forward to their meeting, bringing a thaw in the new Cold War era.