President Joe Biden left for San Francisco to attend the APEC summit and discuss important issues affecting the nations.
Here’s what you need to know about the news.
President Biden heads to San Francisco for APEC summit
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to San Francisco to attend
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
APEC, an intergovernmental forum of 21 member countries from around the Pacific Rim, was established in 1989 to enable free trade in the Asia-Pacific region and develop new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.
APEC is one of the highest-level multilateral blocs in the Asia-Pacific region and has global significance.
This year’s APEC summit will begin on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 and end on Friday, November 17, 2023. The White House says the summit will cover global issues such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, human rights the man and North Korea’s ties to Russia. and Taiwan, artificial intelligence and fair trade and economic relations.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly attended a DNC fundraising event in San Francisco on Tuesday evening. According to the sources, the President will meet with President Xi Jinping before the APEC summit.
Their meeting would take place on Wednesday at the bucolic Filoli estate in Woodside, south of the city, for four hours.
The two leaders would meet for the first time in a year. Xi visited the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017.
Early Tuesday, on his way to the APEC summit, the president indicated his goal of meeting with the Chinese president.
He said the two nations must once again “follow a corresponding normal course” despite many differences.
Biden said at the White House: “Being able to pick up the phone and talk to each other in a crisis. Being able to ensure that our military stays connected with each other. We are not trying to separate ourselves from China, but we are trying to improve relations.”
Biden and Xi are expected to discuss several global issues troubling both countries, including trade, terrorist threats, visas for journalists in the countries, Taiwan, military aid and more.
The United States and China are long-standing trading partners and maintain close economic relations. The two countries have common interests in environmental, political and economic security.
However, their relations have become complex since 1949 due to many reasons, including Taiwan’s political status, the One-China policy, disputes in the South China Sea, etc.
In 2023, the United States and China are the world’s first and second largest economies in terms of GDP. As such, Biden’s meeting with Xi marks an important step toward building strong ties and preventing further deterioration in their relations.
Biden and Harris are expected to remain in San Francisco until Friday.
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