USA‑China meeting: Resurfacing topics of war in Ukraine and the Middle East

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping next Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area, as announced by the White House on Friday. The conversation aims to construct a framework for "managing complex relations" between the two nations. The leaders are expected to tackle, among other things, issues concerning the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

During a briefing announcing the summit, high-ranking representatives of the US administration stated that Biden and Xi will discuss the "strategic direction of their bilateral relations." They will also strive to establish a "framework for managing complex and nuanced relationships (between the US and China)". Restoring communication between the militaries of both countries will be another important topic of conversation, despite skepticism from Beijing.

The discussion will also cover the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

"We won't ignore any topic — everything is up for discussion," stated one of the officials. This official revealed Biden's intention to express American "concerns about China's relations with Russia" and Russia's ties with North Korea, especially in relation to the Ukraine conflict. The official also noted that the president wants China to leverage its influence over Iran to deter Tehran from escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

Biden's meeting with the Chinese leader coincides with the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Community) summit, organized in San Francisco. However, the leaders' discussions are not slated to occur within the city itself, but in the broader "San Francisco Bay Area".

This upcoming summit will be the second in-person meeting between Xi and Biden since the latter assumed office. Their initial encounter occurred in November 2022 during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.