A year since President Xi and President Biden last met, US-China relations have been on a rollercoaster ride. Despite tough images, both sides recognize the cost of allowing relations to spiral. Recent diplomatic efforts aim to repair the relationship.
It has been a year since President Xi and President Biden last met, and it's hard to overstate just what a rollercoaster US- China relations have been on since then. The fact this meeting is happening at all is the result of months of delicate planning. But for all the 'tough-line', 'hard-man' images that both men try to broadcast domestically, there is a mutual recognition of one key fact: it would cost more, both politically and economically, to allow relations to spiral.
Why now? It was just nine months ago that US-China relations hit what felt like rock bottom as the so-called Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the US, plunging their diplomacy into crisis. The vast backdrop of disagreements from Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine war, tech controls and economic sanctions meant the relationship felt as precarious and as dangerous as it had in decades. But the summer has seen a blitz of diplomatic efforts to try to repair things, with multiple meetings of officials at various levels. Both sides know the window for progress is narro
US China Relations Meeting Diplomacy Crisis Disagreements Repair Progress