What is at stake at the digital summit between Xi and Biden?

Biden continues to insist that he is speaking “clearly and honestly” against President Xi. For example, his aversion to China’s autocratic system, his concerns about human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and the pressure on Taiwan. This is in part a domestic mantra for Biden, to emphasize the difference in style with his predecessor Trump. But he also kept this promise in previous meetings.

Because according to Biden, competition with China is in part a systemic battle. “This is a struggle between democracy and autocracy in the 21st century,” he said shortly after taking office. “We have to prove that democracy works.” Biden sees this as America’s historic mandate: “Once a US president is silent on democracy and human rights, we will lose our legitimacy.”

China: we are no longer small

Correspondent Sjoerd den Daas continues: “The expectations are low, the contradictions high on the eve of this first virtual meeting. The fact that we are already talking about it seems to be the biggest gain of this phase.

after the two Phone calls At first glance, the video call with Biden doesn’t seem like a big step up the diplomatic ladder. But the party leader and President Xi Jinping has not left the People’s Republic since January 2020, when the crown had just burst. He also made no exceptions for the G20 and the climate summit that followed in Glasgow. This meeting may not be called a summit, but in this phase the video call between the two leaders is as high as possible.

It is clear that there is something to discuss. It is a thorn in the side of the Chinese that the United States patrols and conducts military exercises in what it sees as its backyard, the South China Sea. But the battle is mostly centered on Taiwan.

Over the past month, a record number of planes have flown in Taiwan’s air defense zone. In an interview with CNN, the US president promised to intervene if China attacks Taiwan. China sees democratic Taiwan as a renegade province, which may need to be forcibly “reunited” with mainland China.

It’s still unclear what Biden’s promises will be worth in the event of a Chinese invasion, but people are outraged in Beijing. In America, China’s growing nuclear arsenal is causing concern, seen by Beijing as an urgent need to counterbalance Washington.