Biden Says Senate Victory Makes Him ‘Stronger’ in Meeting With Xi

US President Joe Biden walks past Balinese dancers on his arrival for the G-20 Summit at Ngurah Rai International airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Made Nagi/Pool via Reuters)

U.S. President Joe Biden anticipated having “stronger” talks in the meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping after the victory of Nevada’s Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

On Nov. 13, Biden said, “I know I’m coming in stronger, but I don’t need that,” regarding his meeting with Xi in Bali on the 14th, prior to the annual summit of leaders of the Group of 20 nations.

“I know Xi Jinping, I’ve spent more time than any other world leader. I know him well. He knows me,” he said.

For his first meeting with Xi since taking office as the U.S. President, Biden said, “We each just got to figure out what the red lines are, what are the most important things to each of us going into the next two years.”

The Red Lines

Biden made the comment when he arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 13 for the annual East Asia Summit (EAS).

The White House also released Biden’s talking points for the event. He reaffirmed the enduring U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN at its center, with free and open navigation and overflight, a concrete Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, health system, and clean energy transition.

He also stressed the need for open communication with China while “ensuring competition does not veer into conflict.” He stated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

On the other hand, the Chinese foreign ministry addressed the relevant questions in its regular press conferences.

On Nov. 10, spokesperson Zhao Lijian addressed the red lines of the Chinese side: “The Taiwan question is at the heart of China’s core interests.”

“The one-China principle is the cornerstone of the political foundation for China-U.S. relations,” Zhao said.

Zhao continued the regime’s typical rhetoric: China demands the basic norms of international relations including respect for other countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.

The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but claims Taiwan as part of its sovereignty and internal affairs. The self-ruled island, under the governance of the Republic of China, the government that ruled China after the Qing Dynasty, has maintained its own constitution, education, and military since 1947.