Biden and Xi Talks Show 'Confrontational Course' Between China and US

Agreements between Beijing and Washington may have been touted by President Joe Biden following talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping but one China expert has told Newsweek that the countries remain on a "confrontational course."

Biden said in a press conference that talks in San Francisco on Wednesday yielded progress in areas that included tackling the trafficking of fentanyl, restoring communication lines between the Chinese and U.S. militaries and co-operation on slowing methane emissions and increasing renewable energy by 2030.

The president said that the U.S. would "continue to compete" with China but would manage that competition "responsibly" so that it "doesn't veer into conflict or accidental conflict."

However, there appeared to be no agreement on the fate of Taiwan and for the second time in five months, Biden called Xi a "dictator."

Also, the decision to forgo a joint communique at Beijing's request, "lets China shape its own narrative" about the talks, "thereby skirting public accountability for promises made in private," Craig Singleton, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) told Newsweek in emailed comments.

"China watchers have seen this movie many times before, and it never ends well for Washington," Singleton said. "Despite signs of renewed engagement, both Xi and Biden remain committed to their current confrontational course, which means the prospects for stabilization remain distant at best and foolhardy at worst."

Singleton believes Chinese concessions on stopping flows of fentanyl—one of the biggest killers of Americans aged between 18 and 45, or military aggression encircling Taiwan, will be "litmus tests" for other talks on issues important to Beijing such as maintaining access to U.S. capital markets "but, the ball is clearly in China's court."

During a news conference, Biden reiterated Washington's acceptance of the One China policy, which acknowledges only one Chinese government, and means it has formal ties with the People's Republic of China rather than the Republic of China (Taiwan), which Beijing claims as its own.

But the U.S. sells arms to the self-governing island under the Taiwan Relations Act and Washington is looking to increase ties with Asian nations as a counterweight to Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region.

Adding to tensions are encounters between Chinese and U.S. vessels and jets in the Taiwan Strait, as well as Chinese military drills near Taiwan. Xi told Biden the U.S. should stop arming Taiwan according to Bejing's account of the talks, and that "China will realize reunification" a move which is "unstoppable."

Singleton said a failure by Beijing to cease encounters in the South China Sea would raise questions about whether it was willing to improve ties.

This would mean the Biden administration "will be forced to contend with its year-long strategy of détente, which has prioritized diplomatic pageantry over tangible changes in China's conduct."

Biden said said there had been "no agreement" on the wrongful detention of U.S citizens in China and had expressed Washington's objection to China's "non-market economic practices that disadvantage American businesses."

While Biden said he welcomed "the positive steps" in the talks, he was less diplomatic when asked by a journalist if he believed Xi was a dictator, replying that he was "in the sense that he's a guy who rules a country that is a communist country" based on a government "totally different than ours." Social media users noted how the off-the-cuff remark made Secretary of State Antony Blinken look distinctly uneasy.

However, Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at London's School of Oriental and Africa Studies (SOAS) said that it was significant Xi chose not to react to Biden's comments.

"It just reflects Biden's personal belief," he told Newsweek. "He could have chosen to see this as an insult but didn't, so the positive atmosphere held.

"This shows that Xi really wants to ease tension for the moment, at least until China gets back to a better position, economically and otherwise."