‘More defensive’ China lowering expectations for talks with US, including Xi-Biden call, observers say

Chinese leader criticised US in discussion on the sidelines of annual meeting of National People’s Congress

Foreign ministry spokesman says the two countries are maintaining “necessary communication”

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President Xi Jinping (left) and US President Joe Biden reach out to shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00pm, 18 Mar 2023

China is lowering its expectations for talks with the United States and has become more defensive, observers said, warning that a planned call between the leaders of the two countries offered little prospect of meaningful gains.

While both sides still see the need to repair deteriorating ties, Beijing has come to understand that its relationship with the US would not return to its previous state, according to Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

“China no longer thinks that it needs to have a relationship like in the past,” he said.

Lu Xiang, an expert on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China was getting impatient because it believed an earlier consensus between the two nations’ leaders had not been implemented.

When President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met at the G20 summit in Indonesia in November, the White House said competition between the two nations should not veer into conflict, and a Chinese government statement quoted Biden as saying the US was not seeking a new cold war and did not support independence for Taiwan.

“You can say that China is getting impatient,” Lu said. “The meaning of the talks is impacted if the US has no desire to implement the consensus.”

On Tuesday, when asked for details of a possible call between Xi and Biden, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the two countries maintained “necessary communication”.

‘More defensive’ China lowering expectations for talks with US, including Xi-Biden call, observers say

Chinese leader criticised US in discussion on the sidelines of annual meeting of National People’s Congress Foreign ministry spokesman says the two countries are maintaining “necessary communication”

Chinese leader criticised US in discussion on the sidelines of annual meeting of National People’s Congress

Foreign ministry spokesman says the two countries are maintaining “necessary communication”