Being able to pick up phone, talk to one another: Biden

WASHINGTON DC: Ahead of his key meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden has said that for him, the idea of a successful meeting is to get back on a normal course of corresponding, and being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another whenever there is a crisis, US-based ABC7 news reported. Even though Biden has a full schedule for the 30th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, his meeting with Xi Jinping on Wednesday is the most crucial one.

Their four-hour meeting is scheduled to take place at San Mateo County's Filoli Estate. "To get back on a normal course of corresponding, being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another when there's another crisis," Biden said, shortly before departing for San Francisco on Tuesday. "Being able to make sure our militaries still have contact with one another," he told reporters at the White House.

According to ABC7 News, there are reports circulating that say that an agreement could be announced on Wednesday that would address source material involved in the illegal fentanyl trade. Prior to their respective trips to San Francisco, Biden hosted meetings with fellow APEC leader Joko Widodo of Indonesia on Monday at the White House.

The president of the most populous Muslim nation in the world, Widodo, has been vehemently critical of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip; thus the visit to the Oval Office came at a rather uncomfortable time, reported ABC7 News. In contrast, Biden has not wavered in his support of Israel's right to self-defence in the wake of the 1,200-death onslaught on October 7 by Hamas terrorists.

During his address at Georgetown University on Monday, the president of Indonesia bemoaned the fact that "human life seems meaningless" when Israel continues its activities. Meanwhile, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, during a press gaggle on Tuesday had said, "I know you all heard from Jake yesterday about the meeting with President Xi and, of course, APEC. I won't be able to improve much upon what Jake said. I'll just tell you that going into APEC, I mean, the President really feels we got the wind at our back here."

"And with 21 economies and 60 percent of global economic output represented here in San Francisco, it's an exciting time. And he'll be focusing, really, on three things" John Kirby said. "One, not only improve and increase American investment in the region, but the region's investment in the United States.

Number two, lifting up and looking towards a vision for better international worker standards, cleaner environments, safer environments, collective bargaining, and a chance for international workers to be able to compete on a level playing field. And number three, building a more inclusive economy across the region," a White House release stated, quoting Kirby as saying. Meanwhile, the US has pressured China to play a more constructive role in both the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war and encouraged the country to step up its role on the world stage.

The two leaders are expected to discuss various issues, including, restoring military-to-military communication between the two countries, a chief objective for Biden, who plans to press Xi on the issue. Moreover, it also includes the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, areas of potential cooperation like climate change and countering narcotics trafficking, deep disagreements over human rights issues and military escalation in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. According to US officials, the talks would be expansive and spread out over multiple working sessions.