Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Bali for a long-awaited meeting with US President Joe Biden, ahead of a G20 summit set to be fraught with tension over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, issues that will also loom over the G20 that opens on Tuesday without Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will represent the Russian president at the G20 summit – the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in February – after the Kremlin said Putin was too busy to attend.
On the eve of Monday’s meeting with Xi, Biden told Asian leaders in Cambodia that US communication lines with China would stay open to prevent conflict, with tough talks almost certain in the days ahead. He arrived in Bali late on Sunday.
Relations between the superpowers have sunk to their lowest in decades, marred by growing tensions in recent years over issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, trade practices and US restrictions on Chinese technology.
But US officials said both Beijing and Washington have worked quietly in the past two months to repair ties.
“These meetings do not take place in isolation, they are part of a very sustained process,” one Biden administration official said. “I think we are satisfied with the seriousness that both sides have brought to that process.”
Biden and Xi, who have held five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021, last met in person during the Obama administration when Biden was vice-president.
Monday’s face-to-face meeting will be at The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel on Nusa Dua bay on the Indonesian island. It is unlikely to produce a joint statement, the White House has said.
Both leaders will attend the opening of the G20 summit on Tuesday.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the host of the summit, said he hoped the meeting could “deliver concrete partnerships that can help the world in its economic recovery”.
However, one of the main topics at the G20 will be Russia’s war in Ukraine and Biden will be “unapologetic” in his defence of the European nation, US officials said last week.
Xi and Putin have grown increasingly close in recent years, bound by their shared distrust of the West, and reaffirmed their partnership just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. But China has been careful not to provide any direct material support that could trigger Western sanctions against it.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emphasised the “irresponsibility” of nuclear threats during the summit in Cambodia, suggesting China was uncomfortable with strategic partner Russia’s nuclear rhetoric, the Biden administration official said.
The West has accused Russia of making irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons since its February invasion of Ukraine. Russia has in turn accused the West of “provocative” nuclear rhetoric.
Russia’s Lavrov said on Sunday the West was “militarising” Southeast Asia in a bid to contain Russian and Chinese interests, setting the stage for more confrontation with Western leaders at the G20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will address the G20 gathering by video link on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to meet Lavrov at the summit, a Downing Street spokesperson said. He is also likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Biden.
Sunak will call on G20 for co-ordinated action to address economic instability and the rising cost of living following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his government said.
The G20, which includes countries ranging from Brazil to India and Germany, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product and 60 per cent of its population.
Australian Associated Press
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