Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – President of the United States (US) Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting on Wednesday (14/11/2023) in San Francisco, USA. The meeting between the two itself took place on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
The summit was their first face-to-face meeting in a year. The two met in the midst of tensions that have not subsided between Washington and Beijing, regarding a number of economic and geopolitical matters.
“What we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better,” Biden told reporters at the White House before leaving for San Francisco, he was quoted as saying Al Jazeera.
“We want to return to normal relations,” he added.
Xi Jinping himself did not make many statements. But a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the two leaders would have “in-depth communication” and discuss “major issues regarding world peace”.
What was Putin’s reaction?
Xi Jinping and Biden’s meeting took place at a time when the US and its allies were at odds with Russia due to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. China, on the other hand, forged a seamless strategic partnership while Moscow was isolated by the West.
This APEC summit did not invite Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was because of US sanctions that Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk represented Russia at the summit.
The Kremlin has not said much about Xi Jinping and Biden’s meeting. Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the meeting was not on the Kremlin’s agenda but that his party planned to monitor it.
“The two countries are actually building bilateral relations,” he said Interfax.
“This is their right, so this is not a topic that is much on our agenda,” he added.
“But, of course, any such meeting, especially of the two largest economies in the world, is important for everyone, so one way or another, we will monitor the messages that will accompany this meeting.”
Previously, Xi Jinping had met Putin many times in recent years. Last month, Xi said he had met Putin “42 times in the last 10 years”.
The last meeting took place in October. At that time, Putin traveled to Beijing to attend an economic summit.
Russia and China agree to have “no trust” in the West. Where the West is seen as trying to impose the US-led international order and carry out economic coercion.
Russian Media
Meanwhile, the Russian media is said to have provided cold comments on the APEC Summit and the meeting of Xi Jinping and Biden. A reporter for a news agency RIA Novosti The Russian government reported that the APEC summit plenary meeting chaired by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai took place “in a half-empty hall”.
“Even though most of the meeting participants were present at the table, including representatives of the Russian Federation, several marked seats remained empty,” he reported.
“Dozens of seats were also empty for event guests,” the news agency said, according to a Google translation.
Quote CNBC International, Russian news agencies are said to be “emphasizing the differences” and gulf between China and the US ahead of Xi Jinping and Biden’s meeting. The pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests that occurred in the US when the summit was held were also in the spotlight.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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