Editorial | Xi and Biden need to rebuild trust in front of a watching world
- At their long-awaited meeting on Wednesday, the leaders of global powers China and the US must aim to seek common ground and narrow their differences
Every summit between the leaders of the two big world powers has had its own backstory, from the Cold War to the present day. What sets Wednesday’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden apart is that it is happening at all right now.
A toxic political environment has poisoned bilateral relations. To make the summit happen the two leaders had to convince doubters at home and put aside vast differences that seemed irreconcilable at times.
It is no mean feat, and one that should reassure a world concerned by intensifying rivalry.
The announcement of a summit that remained in doubt until now is therefore to be warmly welcomed. It marks a restoration of a relationship that hit rock bottom after the Chinese balloon incident over the United States in February.
02:27
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets top US senator, says China-US ties impact 'destiny of mankind'
Having taken months to rebuild basic trust, both sides, hopefully, will now treasure it and lay the foundations for a more constructive way forward. The reality, however, is problematical.
It is unrealistic to expect China and the US to reset their relationship overnight to where it was, say, five years ago, before former president Donald Trump’s trade war and other unfriendly unilateral measures. The gaps between the two sides are many and wide and the foundations for cooperation fragile.