The Xi-Biden meeting and Germany's dilemma

2023-11-15 08:19:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Xi-Biden meeting and Germany's dilemma

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting in California to stabilize strained relations between the two countries. The meeting will take place within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit.

Biden and Xi have not met in person since the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, a year ago. The American side said that the purpose of the conversation, which is expected to last several hours, is the responsible shaping of the competition between the two countries as well as the creation of safe communication channels to avoid sinking into any conflict.

Very tense for a long time

Relations between the world's two largest economies have long been highly strained. A trade conflict, accusations of espionage, tensions over Taiwan and China's stance on the Ukraine war have brought relations between them to a low point. However, in recent months both sides have tried to revive communication with each other. The meeting of the presidents was preceded by numerous meetings between senior officials and members of the governments of both countries.

According to experts, international expectations for the Biden-Xi Jinping meeting are quite modest. Political scientist from Berlin, Hanns Maull, expert on international issues, said in an interview for DW that the resumption of talks between Beijing and Washington should have happened a long time ago. However, according to him, it cannot be said whether the summit will be successful in clarifying the serious issues of the conflict that are the causes of tensions between China and the USA. Maull says most observers doubt it.

Balancing act - China strategy

The tensions between Washington and Beijing put Berlin in a difficult situation: because on one side of the conflict is the US, Germany's most important security ally and supplier, on the other side is Germany's biggest trading partner, China.

To prepare for this balancing act, in mid-July the federal government approved a China strategy after lengthy discussions. "China has changed – this and China's political decisions make it necessary to change how we deal with China," says the very beginning of the strategy, which describes China as a strategic partner, competitor and rival at the same time. An essential part of the strategy is to reduce German dependence on China under the watchword of risk-free. German companies must become increasingly involved in other countries and regions in order to spread and reduce risks./ DW