Chinese born professor Minxin Pei discusses the evolving relationship between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, highlighting misconceptions about Xi's leadership. They explore Xi's strategic vision, foreign relationships, and the dynamics between Xi and Biden. The podcast also touches on Biden's briefing before meeting Xi, CIA profiling on China, surveillance in China, and espionage rivalry between the US and China.
Biden and Xi's personal relationship may not translate to a deep understanding of Xi's strategic ambitions.
Xi Jinping's shift towards centralizing control, emphasizing socialist values, and walking back reforms shapes China's policies.
Deep dives
Biden and Xi Jinping's Initial Meetings
In 2011, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met for the first time in China as vice presidents, aiming to build a connection. Despite playing basketball and sharing meals, the podcast questions the depth of Biden's understanding of Xi Jinping due to the Chinese leader's strategic reserve.
Assessment of Xi Jinping's Political Beliefs
Analysts reflect on Xi Jinping's political trajectory, highlighting a shift in his ideology post-2012. Xi's focus on centralizing control, walking back reforms, and emphasizing socialist values illuminate his political objectives and guiding principles, shaping China's domestic and foreign policies.
US-China Relations Under Biden and Xi Jinping
The episode delves into the dynamics of US-China relations under Biden and Xi Jinping's leadership. Insights suggest a pragmatic yet transactional engagement between the two leaders, with a focus on containing tensions and avoiding escalations despite underlying rivalry and structural conflicts.
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met on a basketball court in China in 2011 when they were vice presidents. They later toasted each other in Washington. They’ve spent many hours together. Much has changed. Can they hold the center together?
Guest: Minxin Pei, Chinese born professor of government Claremont McKenna College; author of Surveillance State and other books on China.
Jane’s first podcast about how Washington got it all wrong on Xi Jinping.