Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Xi starts first day at G20 with a whirlwind of meetings with US allies

Xi starts first day at G20 with a whirlwind of meetings with US allies

After a near three-year absence from the world stage, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has embarked on a whirlwind of face-to-face meetings with Western leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, as he looks to reassert China’s global influence.
Following a three-hour meeting on Monday with US President Joe Biden in an attempt to prevent their rivalry from spilling into open conflict, Xi on Tuesday held talks with the leaders of four US allies — Australia, France, the Netherlands and South Korea.

China’s relations with US allies have deteriorated to varying degrees in recent years, due to rising geopolitical tensions, disputes over trade and the origins of Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Beijing’s growing partnership with Moscow — despite Russia’s war on Ukraine.

While the flurry of in-person meetings are unlikely to completely reset relations, they could serve as a positive first step in restoring open communication channels — in some ways similar to the meeting between Xi and Biden.

Biden steps into G20 aiming to unite leaders in opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine

For the majority of the pandemic, Xi limited his diplomatic activities to virtual summits and video conferences, hunkering down inside of China’s borders during a period of rising tensions with the West.

Meanwhile, Biden has sought to work closer with allies and partners to counter Beijing’s growing influence, framing the rivalry with China as part of the global clash between democracy and autocracy.

On Monday, Xi pushed back at that narrative. In a Chinese readout of the meeting, Xi described his country’s system of governance as “Chinese-style democracy,” in an apparent signal to US allies that ideological differences are not a barrier to relations with Beijing.

The most anticipated in-person diplomacy by Xi on Tuesday was perhaps his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, partly because ties between Beijing and Canberra have frayed significantly over the past years.

In a statement, Albanese called the meeting an “important step towards the stabilization of the Australia-China relationship.”

At the meeting, Xi told Albanese that good relations between Beijing and Canberra were in the “fundamental interests of both our peoples” and “conducive to peaceful development in the Asia-Pacific region.”

“Mr. Prime Minister – you have said on multiple occasions that you will handle our countries’ bilateral relations in a more balanced approach, for which I highly value,” Xi told Albanese.

The two countries have been locked in a bruising trade dispute and diplomatic freeze since early 2020, when China slapped tariffs on Australia following its call for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

Geopolitics is also a sore point between the two nations. Canberra is alarmed by Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific islands, while China is angered by Australia’s new military alliance with the US and the UK, intended to provide Australia with nuclear powered submarines and other advance weaponry.

Leaders of the two countries last met when Albanese’s predecessor, Scott Morrison, had brief informal discussions with Xi at the G20 in Japan in 2019.

But it has been six years since leaders from the two sides have held a formal bilateral meeting, after then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s sit-down with Xi at the G20 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in 2016.

“We are always going to be better off when we talk to each other, calmly and directly,” Albanese said in his statement. “We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest.”

As the case with the meeting between Xi and Biden, few in Australia believe the meeting between Xi and Albanese can completely reset the two countries’ strained relations.

“Much has happened in the last six years when the leaders of the two countries last met and the geopolitical dynamics of the region have changed too much for a ‘reset,’” said Jennifer Hsu, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

“Furthermore, a certain and influential segment of Australia’s foreign policy and national security institutions have fundamentally reshaped how China is viewed and that is difficult to undo,” Hsu added.

John Lee, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington and former national security adviser to the Australian government, said core Chinese objectives — such as its South China Sea, Taiwan and South Pacific policies — are “fundamentally at odds with Australia’s core interests.”

“It may be a diplomatic reset of some sorts but not one in substance where both sides begin to genuinely approach each other in good faith and a preparedness to compromise,” Lee added.

In a sign of Xi’s busy schedule, the Chinese leader and French President Emmanuel Macron squeezed in a meeting early on Tuesday, before both leaders showed up at the opening of the G20 summit.

The talks, which lasted for 43 minutes according to the French Presidency, saw Xi reiterate his support for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.

“Xi stressed China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is clear and consistent, advocating a ceasefire, a stop to war and peace talks,” a readout of the meeting from Chinese state media CCTV said.

A readout from the French Presidency said the two leaders “reaffirmed their firm position on preventing the use of nuclear weapons” in the war in Ukraine — a line that was not included in the Chinese readout.

France, like other European countries, has hardened its position on China in recent years, increasingly viewing the country as a competitor and security concern.

Xi also met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall, and is expected to meet a few more world leaders later on Tuesday.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Spain Scraps F-35 Jet Deal as Trump Pushes for More NATO Spending
France Faces Largest Wildfire Since 1949 as Blazes Rage Across Aude
French Senate Report Alleges State Cover‑Up in Perrier ‘Natural Mineral Water’ Scandal
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Britain's Online Safety Law Sparks Outcry Over Privacy, Free Speech, and Mass Surveillance
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Grok 4 Video plus Voice, can identify wildlife!
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
The UK Does Not Have a ‘Far-Right’ Problem
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
JD Vance Warns Europe Faces “Civilizational Suicide” Over Open Borders and Speech Limits
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
×