Under strained circumstances, Biden, Xi scheduled to talk trade
PBS NewsHourOCT 2023
Biden, Xi to Meet in San Francisco
Image copyright: Alex Wong/Getty Images News via Getty Images (Nov. 15, 2021)
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Though these talks aren't likely to produce any major breakthrough in the US-China relationship, the meeting is itself a positive development after months of tensions amid heavy global turmoil. As the Biden administration has listed Sino-American stability among its top foreign policy priorities so as to prevent another world crisis, this is certainly a first and necessary step to achieve this vital geopolitical goal.
Establishment-critical narrative
This long-awaited meeting comes as the US — still reluctant to back off — has realized that its military pressure on Beijing will never break the PRC's resolve to protect its territorial sovereignty and national security, but rather risks creating the conditions for a potential crisis to turn into a military conflict. Hopefully, the US has come to its senses and will finally stabilize relations with China as part of a realization that the world order is now strongly multipolar and no longer dominated by American hegemony.