Wars in Israel and Ukraine complicate APEC summit as Biden prepares to meet with China’s Xi Jinping

President Biden meets with President Xi amid wars in Israel, Ukraine and disputed status of Taiwan

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President Biden is set to visit San Francisco and engage in a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 30th annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The anticipated encounter between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, who often hold opposing positions on various issues, is expected to be a focal point of the summit. For Biden, it presents an opportunity to highlight areas of potential cooperation while also delivering strong messages regarding key U.S. national interests in the region. President Xi is likely to assert China’s capacity to influence global affairs and position itself as a mediator in some of the world’s conflicts.

APEC comprises nations with diverse interests and values, and its membership is based on economies rather than nations. It encompasses nearly 40% of the global population, approximately 62% of the world’s GDP, and almost half of global trade, as per the State Department. Taiwan, an island territory that Beijing claims as part of China but receives military support from the U.S., is among the participants.

This meeting marks the first face-to-face encounter between Biden and Xi since their sideline meeting at the G-20 gathering in Bali in November 2022. Biden’s meeting with Xi follows several high-level U.S. officials’ discussions with their Chinese counterparts aimed at easing tensions after the spy balloon incident earlier this year.

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President Biden is scheduled to travel to San Francisco for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 30th annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This marks their first face-to-face encounter since November 2022.

The United States and China hold fundamentally opposing positions on numerous issues, and expectations for substantial outcomes from the meeting are low.

Gordon Chang, a China expert and author of “China Is Going to War,” argues that discussing topics like Ukraine and Israel with Xi Jinping is unnecessary. He suggests that if Biden wants China to cease supporting Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Iran’s activities in Israel, a tougher stance, including imposing significant costs on China, is required.

Kharis Templeman, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, emphasizes that the divisions between the two nations are deeply rooted and structural, making resolution unlikely after a single conversation. He suggests that the Biden administration’s best opportunity to assert American leadership lies in addressing economic matters.

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“Supply chain security, artificial intelligence regulation, renewable energy and carbon emissions, and internet governance are all on the table and are likely to divide the United States and China. How other APEC members view these matters and if the Biden administration can bring like-minded partners and allies to the table to reach a consensus are the unanswered questions, according to Templeman.

The international conference is supported by a number of global issues, the two most pressing of which are Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Following the October 7 terrorist attack in which 1,400 Israelis were killed and 240 more were taken captive by Hamas, Israel has begun a military effort to destroy the terrorist organization.
Israelis examine the debris

On October 8, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Israelis examine the debris of a building that was struck by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip the day before. (AP Photo/File: Oded Balilty)

The eastern Ukrainian counteroffensive has reached a standstill as the war in Ukraine nears its second year, just as domestic forces in the United States and throughout NATO are beginning to doubt the unwavering military and financial assistance provided to Kyiv.

Beijing and Washington see Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s battle in Gaza in very different ways.

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“The U.S. message on the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East will be that China also has to shoulder more of the responsibility for global governance if it wants to be respected as a great power in the world,” Templeman said. Beijing adopted a cautious stance following the attack by Hamas, criticizing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the innocent lives lost, but it has refrained from strongly denouncing the atrocities carried out by Hamas. Biden has stood firmly behind Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While Biden has refrained from requesting a cease-fire, China is likewise pushing for one. Rather, he has advocated for a brief cessation of the shelling to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian goods to Gaza.

China has also been charged with picking a side in the conflict in Ukraine; earlier this year, rumors claimed that China was arming Russia to fight against Kyiv.