President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in person for the first time Monday, on the sidelines of the annual G20 summit.
This year the gathering is being held on the Indonesian island of Bali, where each man will have the political wind at his back. Biden is coming off the Democrats’ surprising performance in the midterm elections, and Xi recently secured a third term in office with the approval of the country’s Communist Party.
Biden told reporters Sunday that “I know I’m coming in stronger, but I don’t need that.” He cited his long relationship with Xi and noted that Xi’s “circumstance has changed, to state the obvious, at home.”
But despite the president’s optimistic tone ahead of the meeting, the two will likely broach some more difficult topics, including China’s relationship with Russia as well as the US commitment to defending Taiwan should China invade.
The White House has warned reporters to expect no major announcements or a joint statement from the countries following the Biden-Xi meeting on Monday.
Source-ABC
