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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Exclusive | China-US tension: Xi-Biden meet may be further delayed as Beijing considers a virtual G20 seat

  • If they fail to meet in Rome in October, it would be the longest delay before a newly inaugurated US president met his Chinese counterpart since 1997
  • Politburo Standing Committee members have not taken any overseas trips since the pandemic and Xi has not hosted a foreign state leader since March 2020

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Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with then US vice-president Joe Biden in 2013. They world leaders have not met in person since Biden became US President in January. Photo: AP
Catherine WongandWendy Wu
The prospect of Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a face-to-face meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Italy this autumn have dimmed, according to sources familiar with arrangements.

While Beijing is yet to reach a final decision, the leadership leans towards China’s president attending via a video link rather than flying to Rome for the summit on October 30-31. Virtual attendance would mean there would be no opportunity at the summit for the Chinese and US leaders to hold their first face-to-face meeting since Biden became US president on January 20.

While any decision for Xi to not go to Rome for the summit would be partly because of safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, it also reflects the lack of progress made to restart the stalled China-US relationship.
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US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman added China at the last minute to her trip to Asia in July and both sides exchanged “candid views”. But there is no word of further talks between the countries’ top diplomats. A preparatory session between the countries’ top representatives is normally necessary if the two presidents are to meet.

If Xi and Biden fail to meet at the G20 summit in Rome, it would be the longest delay before a newly inaugurated US president met his Chinese counterpart since 1997. Given that there is no other obvious opportunity for the two to meet after October, it may well be the first time there has been no summit between a newly inaugurated US president and China’s top leader since 1993.

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