FROM THE CORRESPONDENT FROM WASHINGTON. The White House has announced that on the eve of the G20 in Bali on November 15-16, President Biden will have a bilateral agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two will discuss the need to keep communication channels open and how to manage the various dossiers on which the countries are competitors. In the statement released by the White House, reference is also made to “collaboration on issues in which interests are aligned”. The reference is to “transnational challenges” which have an impact on the international community. Washington considers China the rival country and the most formidable adversary globally not only in the Pacific space but stresses that the tensions over some dossiers – such as Taiwan, human rights and expansionism in the Pacific – cannot overshadow the need for collaborate on issues such as the climate and the fight against pandemics.
The White House, announcing the bilateral, said Biden and Xi will also discuss a range of “regional and global issues” without specifying. Among these, Biden will certainly invite Xi not to support Putin’s campaign in Ukraine and will reaffirm the US position on Taiwan or the opposition to a unilateral change in the status quo. Before meeting Xi, Biden will have other bilaterals in the journey that begins tonight and will take him to Egypt for COP 27 and then to Cambodia for Asean and then to the G20. In Egypt he will see Al Sisi with whom, White House sources say he will raise the issue of political prisoners and human rights. He will therefore see in Asia the Japanese prime minister Fukida, the Indonesian president, host of the G20 and the Cambodian. The Sherpas of diplomacy are also working on other Biden meetings: the conditions for a bilateral agreement with the British Rishi Sunak are being studied. On the other hand, a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni does not yet appear on the President’s agenda – still being defined – even though diplomatic circles confirm that a meeting “on the sidelines is highly probable”, and will take place in Bali.