Biden-Xi Meeting, Military Crisis Hotline, and Economic Decoupling
Nov 14, 2023
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Shane Leary discusses Biden-Xi meeting, military crisis hotline, and economic decoupling. They explore the implications of the meeting, China's motivations for hyping it up, China's actions in the Pacific, the importance of re-establishing military communications, and the concerns and consequences of US-China relations.
China's motivation for hyping the Biden-Xi meeting is to salvage domestic credibility and legitimacy, but the United States should approach the meeting with caution and deal with China through candor and specific concrete results.
Establishing military-to-military communications with China is challenging due to the Communist Party's control over the military, and the best approach to deal with China's military intimidation is through operational responses and joint patrols with like-minded countries in the region.
Deep dives
Significance of Biden-Xi Jinping Meeting
The upcoming meeting between President Biden and Xi Jinping is hyped by China but is not expected to be historically significant. China's motivation for hyping the meeting is to salvage domestic credibility and legitimacy. The United States should approach the meeting with caution and deal with China through candor and specific concrete results.
Challenges in Military-to-Military Communications
Establishing military-to-military communications with China is challenging due to the Communist Party's control over the military. Previous attempts at establishing hotlines proved futile as the Chinese side did not pick up calls. The best approach to deal with China's military intimidation is through operational responses and joint patrols with like-minded countries in the region.
US-China Economic Relations and Decoupling
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's statement on US-China economic relations lacks firmness. China's non-market economy, Communist Party control, and ambitions for global dominance pose challenges. Decoupling is already happening as Western companies and investors find China uninvestable. Both China and the US see the trend of decoupling, despite Yellen's emphasis on maintaining a healthy economic relationship.
Shane Leary joins Miles Yu to discuss the long-awaited meeting between President Biden and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco, the importance and challenge of establishing a military-to-military communications hotline with China, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s recent statements regarding de-coupling.