Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet today in the Peruvian capital of Lima for the last time with American President Joe Biden, before the newly elected head of state of the United States Donald Trump takes office, BNR reported.
Relations between the two countries have stabilized over the past year, with the two countries holding regular high-level meetings after tensions rose after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
Meanwhile, Biden met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea to cement their diplomatic progress in anticipation of the new Trump administration, which many fear could fray alliances around the world, Reuters reported, citing from BTA.
The meeting between Biden and two of his closest Asian allies comes as US relations with Beijing are expected to become more confrontational after Donald Trump takes office on January 20, given his promises of a sharp rise of tariffs, which could hamper the Chinese economy.
The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia in support of Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as North Korea's nuclear weapons program and diminishing prospects for a peaceful settlement of the decades-long conflict with South Korea, are also raising tensions in Asia.
„Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States strongly condemn the decisions of the leaders of the DPRK and Russia to dangerously expand Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine,” said in a joint statement,
The meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima, Peru, brought together Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office in October, in person for the first time.
Establishing cooperation between South Korea and Japan is considered one of the diplomatic achievements of Biden's soon-to-end four-year term as president. The two countries have a long history of mutual enmity stemming from Japan's harsh colonial rule over Korea from 1910-1945.
Xi Jinping has warned against any efforts to stop globalisation, his first major speech since Donald Trump won the US presidential election and threatened to impose tariffs of up to 60% on the import of goods from the second largest economy in the world, reports Bloomberg, quoted by BNR
"Blocking economic cooperation under various excuses and dividing an interdependent world is a step back in history," said a speech written by Xi Jinping that was delivered on Friday by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at a meeting of the peak in Peru.
"The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. Unilateralism and protectionism are spreading, the fragmentation of the world economy is intensifying. Economic globalization is facing serious challenges," the Chinese president said.
The Chinese leader sought to cast himself as a champion of economic globalization as he attended the APEC and Group of 20 summits in South America this week, a strategy he used during Trump's first term. The US president-elect's tariff threats risk derailing China's fragile recovery, Bloomberg notes.
Xi Jinping, however, expressed "full confidence" in meeting China's target of economic growth of around 5% for 2024, after October data showed the economy started to recover as a result of government stimulus measures introduced. Consumption growth has almost caught up with factory output, which is positive for an economy struggling with a slump in the property sector, weak demand and falling prices.
He also urged emerging economies in the so-called "Global South" to have a greater voice in world affairs, with all countries enjoying equal rights and opportunities for development.
"We must properly guide the development of economic globalization and not follow the old path of letting a few countries lead the hegemony. We must push forward economic globalization to unleash more positive effects and enter a new stage that is more dynamic, more inclusive and more sustainable," Xi Jinping said in his speech.
New US President Donald Trump has tapped longtime critics of China to key posts in his administration, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Michael Waltz as national security adviser.