Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Larijani: The Zionist entity seeks to sow chaos, but this crime will only make the Iranian people more united and standing in solidarity
Ali Larijani, senior political advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic: These crimes demonstrated the impotence of the United States
Qalibaf: The Zionist entity must await a harsh response that will make it regretful
Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf: The time is ripe for revenge, which will be achieved by any and all means
Tasnim News Agency: 6 nuclear scientists were martyred in Israeli aggression
State TV announces Iran will not participate in the indirect nuclear talks with the United States scheduled for Sunday in the Omani capital
IOF spokesperson: In recent hours, Iran has launched more than 100 drones toward 'Israel'
Jordan temporarily closes its airspace due to escalating tensions in the region
Israeli media outlet: The United States knew about the attack on Iran at least a week in advance
By executive order of the Supreme Leader, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as temporary Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC

Xi-Biden exchange: importance and future expectations

  • Hannan Hussain Hannan Hussain
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 19 Nov 2022 16:02
5 Min Read

The very fact that Washington continues to back its interference in Taiwan, as reflected in the White House readout, confirms a single fact: that the US is not operating in good faith to develop “principles” that advance common US-China pursuits.

  • x
  • The very fact that Washington continues to back its interference in Taiwan confirms a single fact: that the US is not operating in good faith to develop “principles” that advance common US-China pursuits
    The very fact that Washington continues to back its interference in Taiwan confirms a single fact: that the US is not operating in good faith to develop “principles” that advance common US-China pursuits

Shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, regional powers in Asia got a greater degree of assurance against confrontation risks. The exchange served as a key test of Washington’s ability to genuinely coexist with Beijing, especially in a Southeast Asia region that has productive trade and diplomatic relations with both countries. And the same region has very limited appetite for any cold-war mentality that the U.S. has used to deliberately resist China’s rise. In stark contrast, for Beijing, coexistence is simply a holdover from the past. Nothing stands in the way of its continuity.

At the meeting, the stated US position to manage the US-China "competition responsibly" was long overdue. Washington has been preoccupied with pouring billions into denying China its chipmaking prowess, and has been brazen in its unwarranted military assistance to Taiwan, a Chinese province. What Washington describes as "competition" assumes the face of violent confrontation when one looks to divisive arrangements spanning nuclear submarines, “like-minded” democracy clubs, and specific China-focused quadrilateral and Indo-Pacific groupings. All that is evidence that the US – despite its promises of keeping "competition" away from confrontation – is consciously promoting the risks of increased militarization and diplomatic coercion in China’s immediate neighborhood. This necessitates proper guardrails to keep this consequential relationship on track for the betterment of the region. The Bali exchange provides impetus to that very pursuit.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – a top ten-member Asian bloc – has previously signaled its apprehension to rising confrontation risks in the Taiwan Strait thanks to former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unauthorized visit to Taiwan. Now that the Biden administration wishes to court ASEAN further, there is a natural incentive to strike the right cord with China in initial diplomacy. To that end, US-China inputs to the Bali exchange make it clear to their mutual allies, that there is some hope to manage U.S.-China competition in a way that is conducive to stability.

What remains to be seen is how effectively the US demonstrates its sense of responsibility towards competition and engagement with China. For instance, it is one thing for Biden to commit to joint efforts on transnational challenges with Beijing,  such as “climate change, global macroeconomic stability including debt relief, health security, and global food security.” The US makes its case on the fact that this is what the "international community expects". But the international community also expects tangible efforts to bridge the US-initiated trust deficit with China, avoid a growth in militarization and economic barriers in Asia, unilateral tariffs, and continued interference in China’s internal matters. Sovereignty must be treated the same for all countries, be it the US, China, or any other state. 

The very fact that Washington continues to back its interference in Taiwan, as reflected in the White House readout, confirms a single fact: that the US is not operating in good faith to develop “principles” that advance common US-China pursuits. Washington’s refusal to correct its persistent interference in China’s internal affairs remains clear as day as well. And to justify it in the name of competition only exposes the Biden administration’s continued credibility crisis in regions that prioritize healthy ties with Beijing.

For Xi, his country will take the positives from the exchange and look to the future in the right spirit. Long before the meeting, Beijing was clear about keeping relations away from the clutches of confrontation, and indicated the importance of valuing communication lines to overcome geostrategic differences. Even this week, that maturity and foresight escapes no one: Xi indicated that US-China relations should not be “a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other.” Moreover, several times in the recent past – including in a high-level meeting in Anchorage, Alaska  – it was Beijing that left the door open to actionable diplomacy with the US. It has consistently opposed futile containment policies, groupings, and strategies that the US touts to be a guarantor of stability in the Asia-Pacific. Look to Washington’s diplomatic shortcomings in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and understand the broader lesson on lasting peace: that diplomacy is key to eliminating conflict risks.

Taken together, the meeting in Bali provides hope for US-China diplomacy on core economic, geopolitical and international governance issues by preventing long-standing ties from hitting another divisive note in Asia. But the change in position from the US – particularly on managing competition – is much more than a coincidence. Biden remains keen to court ASEAN further, having just launched  the "US-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership." Given ASEAN’s close links to Beijing, Washington is compelled to demonstrate greater vigilance towards what China actually means to the region and the world: an indispensable economic and diplomatic partner. It can thus ill-afford to bill containment designs front and center, when many – including Beijing – rightly see these plans as a detriment to peace, and quite frankly, a dead-end. 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Bali
  • Taiwan
  • US
  • US President Joe Biden
  • China
  • G20 summit
  • Xi Jinping
  • Joe Biden
  • Chinese President Xi Jinping
Hannan Hussain

Hannan Hussain

Writer and author.

Most Read

All
It may well be due to the longstanding relationship between MI6 and HTS, via Inter Mediate, that Britain was the first Western country to recognise their assumption of government in Syria. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

  • Opinion
  • 31 May 2025
The wheels fall off of 'Gideon’s Chariots' in Gaza

The wheels fall off of 'Gideon’s Chariots' in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 11 Jun 2025
Why I hate Zionism and will never forgive its disciples

Why I hate Zionism and will never forgive its disciples

  • Blog
  • 5 Jun 2025
This is a civilizational struggle against techno-barbarism and techno-paganism, against the new Nazism, against dehumanization. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Siberianisation and the pursuit of a new civilisational platform

  • Opinion
  • 8 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

More from this writer

All
Why Trump’s tussle with Harvard University falls short

Why Trump’s tussle with Harvard University falls short

Colombia's Silk Road turn: Breaking the chains of US hegemony

Colombia's Silk Road turn: Breaking the chains of US hegemony

Israeli manpower shortages offer a firm reckoning of its Gaza genocide

Israeli manpower shortages offer a firm reckoning of Gaza genocide

Why Trump’s Panama Canal threats don’t add up.

Why Trump’s Panama Canal threats don’t add up.

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS