Will they agree on anything? Xi and Obama have wide gaps to bridge at September summit
As Beijing and Washington prepare for President Xi Jinping's maiden state visit to the US next month, political experts hold little hope for a major breakthrough in relations, saying the two powers have wide gaps to bridge.
Analysts said the two countries were likely to focus on areas of cooperation, as they remain poles apart on several key issues. A similar approach was adopted at the last summit between the two leaders, held after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Beijing last year.
A litany of problems both new and old had strained ties between the two countries, in particular frictions over China's activities in the South China Sea and cybersecurity issues, said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
"It is exactly when frictions are high that a state visit is needed most and can be especially useful," Glaser said. "Preparation for the visit provides an opportunity to narrow differences, seek common ground and find ways to cooperate."
Chinese scholars said little common ground was likely to be achieved on both the South China Sea issue, where China has reclaimed numerous artificial islands, and cybersecurity issues. The Asean Regional Forum last week - a regional security dialogue involving both China and the US - was the latest occasion in which the two countries bickered about the maritime dispute.
Chinese scholars said the two leaders would have to resort to dialogue on less contentious issues, including climate change, economic cooperation, and counter-terrorism.
Officials from both countries would visit each other's capital cities ahead of the summit, Xinhua said. Exact dates have yet to be announced, but Xi is scheduled to deliver a speech to the United Nations Assembly in New York in late September.
Officials from the two countries had been in talks for months on how they could cooperate with moderate Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia to contain radical Islamism, said Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.
Jin said the two powers could help with the development of these nations and "it would be more effective to work with the US on this front".
Indonesia and Malaysia have been under pressure to repatriate Uygurs back to China as an increasing number fled to Turkey via South East Asia. Beijing has claimed that once in Turkey the Uygurs would cross the Syrian border and join Islamic State. But Uyghur rights groups said most of them would settle in Turkey.
Another achievable goal could be to iron out details for a more institutionalised military-to-military exchange. This could include adding an annex notification of major military activities to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last year.
Glaser said the two militaries would add an annex on "air to air encounters" to the MOU on operational safety in the maritime realm.
It remains to be seen if the two countries could move closer to signing a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) during Xi's visit.
