TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Unclear if Biden will meet Xi in Bali: White House

Attention is growing on whether Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the G-20 summit in Bali, to be held for two days from Nov. 15. The talks, if realized, will be their first in-person meeting since Biden took office in January last year.

Kyodo News
Washington, United States
Sun, October 30, 2022

Share This Article

Change Size

 Unclear if Biden will meet Xi in Bali: White House In this file combination of pictures created on June 8, 2021 shows Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) during a welcome ceremony for Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev in Beijing on July 3, 2019; and US President Joe Biden speaking at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2021. (AFP/Nicolas Asfouri/Nicholas Kamm)
G20 Indonesia 2022

US President Joe Biden plans to travel to Indonesia next month to attend a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, the White House said Friday, while noting that information on bilateral engagements will be "forthcoming."

Attention is growing on whether Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the G-20 summit in Bali, to be held for two days from Nov. 15. The talks, if realized, will be their first in-person meeting since Biden took office in January last year.

As for the possibility of a meeting between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the G-20 sidelines, US officials have recently denied any such plans, saying that Washington does not currently see "a space for meaningful diplomacy" with Putin toward ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The trip to Indonesia will be part of Biden's three-leg trip that will also take him to Egypt, where he will attend a key UN climate conference, and Cambodia.

In the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the president will attend two ASEAN-related annual gatherings, namely the US-ASEAN summit and the East Asia Summit.

The EAS encompasses the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the United States, Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Biden, however, will skip a subsequent leader's gathering of a regional economic framework known as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to be held in Thailand, with Vice President Kamala Harris joining instead. APEC includes many of the EAS nations, some Latin American countries as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The reason Biden will miss the APEC summit slated for Nov. 18 and 19, despite repeatedly emphasizing the importance of the Indo-Pacific amid China's rise, is reportedly due to a schedule conflict with his granddaughter Naomi Biden's wedding.

While in Cambodia for two days from Nov. 12, Biden will reaffirm the "enduring" U.S. commitment to Southeast Asia and underscore the importance of cooperating with ASEAN, the White House said, reflecting the administration's desire to showcase US presence in the region.

Biden will be in Indonesia from Nov. 13 to 16, as leaders of the G-20 -- a group that includes economies such as China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Russia -- will gather.

The possibility of the first in-person Biden-Xi meeting emerged at one point last year envisioned for the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Italy. Xi, however, decided not to travel to the European country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a phone call in late July this year, Biden and Xi agreed to explore the possibility of holding their first face-to-face meeting amid intensifying competition between the two countries in areas ranging from the military to the economy and technology.

Even with tensions between the two countries increasing following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit in August to Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Beijing views as its own, White House officials have talked about efforts to realize a leaders' meeting.

In September, Biden expressed eagerness to meet Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 event, saying "If he's there, I'm sure I'll see him."

During the upcoming G-20 summit meeting, Biden will seek to work with other member nations to alleviate the wider impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has pushed up energy and food prices around the world, and issues important to the recovery of the world economy, according to the White House.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.