• US lawmakers raise concerns over Chinese self-driving testing data collection
• Dining with US firms at APEC, Xi says China is ready to be a partner
• US would welcome back any pandas from China, White House says
• Biden removes sanctions from Chinese institute in push for fentanyl help
• Lawmakers voice concern on Chinese autonomous vehicle firms collecting US testing data
• Xi hints China might send new pandas to the U.S.
• China praises ‘warm’ Xi-Biden meeting in change of rhetoric
• From spy balloons to chocolates: Chinese propaganda frames Xi“s US pivot
• Whiplash in China as state media does U-turn on U.S.
• [World] China: 25 dead, scores hospitalised in Shanxi building fire
• Xi tells US firms China ready to be partner and friend
• US, China, Southeast Asia defence officials meet amid crises
• [World] US and China agree to resume military communications after summit
• US, China Promise to Work Together on Climate Goals

US lawmakers raise concerns over Chinese self-driving testing data collection

https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-autonomous-vehicles/us-lawmakers-raise-concerns-over-chinese-self-driving-testing-data-collection-idUSKBN32B1RW

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers raised alarm about Chinese companies collecting and handling sensitive data while testing autonomous vehicles in the United States, according to letters seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The lawmakers, including House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, asked 10 Chinese-related companies to answer questions by Nov. 29 on data collection practices from ongoing autonomous vehicle testing in California and elsewhere.

The companies - including Baidu (9888.HK), Nio (9866.HK), WeRide, Didi Chuxing, Xpeng (9868.HK), Inceptio, Pony.ai, AutoX, Deeproute.ai and Qcraft - did not respond to requests for comment or could not immediately be reached.

The previously unreported letters, also signed by Democrats Frank Pallone and Raja Krishnamoorti and 10 other lawmakers, said the companies "collect sensitive information about our citizens and their daily routines, the nation's infrastructure, and connected technologies."

"There needs to be greater transparency around what information you collect while testing on American roads, and whether you are financially tied to the Chinese Communist Party," according to the previously unreported letters.

The lawmakers asked what data is collected in the United States, whether it is stored in China, and if it is shared with the Chinese government or others. They also asked if the vehicles collect data on U.S. infrastructure during testing.

The letters said in the 12 months ended November 2022 that Chinese AV companies test drove more than 450,000 miles in California. In July, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his agency had national security concerns about Chinese autonomous vehicle companies in the United States.

"Whether we are talking about hardware or software, in the same way there are concerns around telecom or TikTok, there are concerns around transportation technologies," Buttigieg told Reuters.

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Dining with US firms at APEC, Xi says China is ready to be a partner

https://reuters.com/article/apec-usa-china-xi/dining-with-us-firms-at-apec-xi-says-china-is-ready-to-be-a-partner-idUSKBN32B0B6

China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States, and there is plenty of room for bilateral cooperation, President Xi Jinping told American executives in San Francisco on Wednesday, as Beijing looks to reassure global business and counter his country's struggles to entice foreign investment.

The U.S. executives dined with Xi on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum following a day of talks between the Chinese leader and U.S. President Joe Biden, aimed at steadying relations between the world's two largest economies.

Xi received a standing ovation as he entered the room, and two more before and after he took the stage to speak.

The world needs China and the U.S. to work together, and it is wrong to view China as a threat and play a zero-sum game against it, Xi said in a speech to the audience, including some hand-picked by Beijing.

"Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others. China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone," Xi said.

He assured his audience that "no matter how the global landscape evolves, the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change."

Xi's optimistic tone toward relations with the U.S. was at odds with the negative chorus of voices in Washington, where the U.S. Congress finds unusual bipartisan consensus in the need to counter Beijing.

The high-security dinner was a chance for companies to hear directly from China's leader as they search for ways to navigate China's economic slowdown, a U.S. push to "de-risk" some American supply chains away from China, and uncertainty caused by China's expanding security rules.

Executives from U.S. corporate giants such as Apple's (AAPL.O) Tim Cook, BlackRock's (BLK.N) Laurence Fink, Broadcom's (AVGO.O) Hock Tan, Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio and Pfizer's (PFE.N) Albert Bourla were at the dinner tables.

Xi also met Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk, telling him that he supports the company's development in China, according to a statement from the auto maker's Weibo Account on Thursday.

The dinner, where courses served included coffee-crusted black angus flat iron steak and a vegetable curry with squash and rice, attracted nearly 400 people, including government officials and academics.

But Xi directed much of his speech toward the American people and spent little time on commercial relations with the U.S.

"I would like to let you know that China sympathizes deeply with the American people, especially the young, for the sufferings that fentanyl has inflicted upon them," he said.

Biden and Xi earlier reached an agreement on working together to curb fentanyl production.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior U.S. officials also attended the event, which generated controversy due to reported high ticket costs for companies seeking to brush shoulders with Xi.

Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' select committee on China, had called it "unconscionable" that U.S. companies would pay thousands of dollars to join a dinner with a government the United States says is committing genocide against Muslim Uyghurs.

Gallagher sent a letter on Monday to the hosts – the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations – demanding a complete list of individuals and companies that purchased tickets to the dinner.

Analysts have said Xi's speech alone is unlikely to dramatically alter U.S. business sentiment about China.

U.S. and Chinese officials have often described bilateral business and trade relations as the ballast in otherwise contentious ties with the U.S. But the growing economic and geopolitical rivalry between the superpowers has placed companies from both countries in the crosshairs of the other's government.

China has grown more suspicious of engagement with Western companies, in line with Xi's emphasis on self-reliance and national security, and this year it has cracked down on some U.S. consultancy and due-diligence firms, further damaging investor confidence.

But Gary Dvorchak, whose family hosted Xi in Iowa in 1985 as a young Chinese official, and who was invited by Beijing to attend the dinner, said Xi's appearance was savvy public relations, allowing the ruling Communist Party to show his appeal to regular people.

"It humanizes him and it gives him an ability to show a connection to the American people and bypass the American media," Dvorchak said.

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US would welcome back any pandas from China, White House says

https://reuters.com/article/apec-usa-xi-pandas/us-would-welcome-back-any-pandas-from-china-white-house-says-idUSKBN32B1MW

The United States would welcome back any giant pandas China decides to send, the White House said on Thursday after Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted he might return some of the cuddly-looking black-and-white bears as a friendship gesture.

"He indicated a willingness to think about returning some of them. We obviously appreciated having them here. And we respect the sovereign decision that China made to remove some of the pandas," White House spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing.

"And certainly should a decision be made by the PRC (People's Republic of China) to restore some of the pandas to the United States, we would absolutely welcome them back."

Washington's National Zoo bid a tearful farewell to its beloved trio of giant pandas last week as the long-serving goodwill ambassadors to the U.S. capital began a journey back to China that was announced earlier this year.

Xi noted their departure in a speech to American business leaders in San Francisco Wednesday night on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas, and went to the zoo to see them off," Xi said.

He said he also learned that the San Diego Zoo and people in California look forward to welcoming pandas back.

Xi mentioned only California, not Washington, when he hinted they might return. 

"Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples," Xi said.

"We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples."

The giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family and among the world's most threatened animals, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

The National Zoo bears - Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji - traveled to a reserve in China’s mountainous Sichuan province, where an estimated 1,800 pandas are still found in the wild, the zoo said.

Biden removes sanctions from Chinese institute in push for fentanyl help

https://reuters.com/article/apec-usa-commerce-entity-list/biden-removes-sanctions-from-chinese-institute-in-push-for-fentanyl-help-idUSKBN32B17Y

The Biden administration on Thursday removed the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science from a trade sanction list, part of a bid to convince Beijing to do more to halt the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.

Washington put the institute on the list in 2020 over alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other minority groups, effectively barring it from receiving most goods from U.S. suppliers.

Former Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang last year described it as "shocking" that the U.S., which had expressed frustration over Beijing's lack of cooperation on fentanyl, would sanction an institute he described as essential to controlling the drug.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters had previously reported the institute would be removed as Biden sought more cooperation from Beijing on fentanyl in a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in San Francisco at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

As part of the meeting, the men agreed to create a working group on counter-narcotics cooperation. The White House's National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment on what, beyond creating the working group, China pledged to do to stem shipments of the deadly narcotic.

The move was criticized by human rights activists and Republicans, who accused the Biden administration of going soft on Beijing over its treatment of Uyghurs.

Rayhan Asat, a human rights lawyer of Uyghur heritage, said she recognized the pressing issue posed by fentanyl, but that the U.S. decision raised questions about U.S. commitment to addressing China's rights abuses.

"The United States has a legal obligation, under federal law, to address atrocity crimes once they have been determined as such. The question then arises: should addressing one issue take precedence over addressing the genocide? Can't we address both?" she said.

Blocking fentanyl "precursor" chemicals has been a priority for Washington as the rate of overdose deaths involving the drug more than tripled from 2016 through 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The removal, according to a notice posted in the Federal Register, came after a "removal proposal" was received and reviewed, the department said in the posting, by a committee composed of representatives of the departments of Commerce, State, Defense, Energy, and sometimes, the Treasury.

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Lawmakers voice concern on Chinese autonomous vehicle firms collecting US testing data

https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-autonomous-vehicles/lawmakers-voice-concern-on-chinese-autonomous-vehicle-firms-collecting-us-testing-data-idUSKBN32B1RW

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about Chinese companies collecting sensitive data while testing autonomous vehicles in the United States, according to letters seen by Reuters Thursday.

The lawmakers, including House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, asked 10 companies - including China's Baidu (9888.HK), Nio (9866.HK), WeRide, Xpeng (9868.HK), Inceptio and Pony.ai - to answer questions by Nov. 29 on data collection practices from ongoing U.S. autonomous vehicle testing.

The letters said the companies "collect sensitive information about our citizens and their daily routines, the nation’s infrastructure, and connected technologies."

Xi hints China might send new pandas to the U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/16/pandas-us-china-xi-jinping/2023-11-16T15:24:05.169Z

Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted that Beijing could send new pandas to the United States, days after three beloved pandas who for years lived in the Smithsonian National Zoo were repatriated to China.

In a Wednesday night speech in San Francisco, Xi acknowledged how difficult it has been for Americans to say goodbye to the three pandas — Mei Xiang, 25, Tian Tian, 26, and their 3-year-old son, Xiao Qi Ji.

“I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to send them off,” Xi said. “I also learned that the San Diego Zoo and Californians very much look forward to welcoming pandas back.”

Xi was speaking at a gala dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and featuring CEOs of some of America’s biggest companies. Xi’s remarks about the pandas were first reported by the Associated Press.

The Chinese leader — who met with President Biden for the first time in a year earlier that day — was referring to the San Diego Zoo’s decades-old tradition of hosting pandas. In 2019, the zoo sent its last two pandas back to China: Bai Yun, who had lived in San Diego for 23 years, and her then-6-year-old son Xiao Liwu. Gao Gao, Bai Yun’s mate, was sent back in 2018.

A day after pandas leave, heartbroken zoogoers mourn D.C.’s loss

“Pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and the U.S.,” Xi said in his Wednesday remarks. “We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples.”

Speaking to reporters in San Francisco, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that, if China decides to restore some of the pandas to the United States, “we would absolutely welcome them back.”

“But that’s got to be a decision President Xi makes,” Kirby said.

San Diego Zoo president Paul A. Baribault, in a statement Thursday, said the zoo is “excited to hear of President Xi’s commitment in continuing the giant panda conservation efforts between our two countries, and his attention to the wish of Californians and the San Diego Zoo to see the return of giant pandas.”

The Smithsonian National Zoo declined to comment on Xi’s remarks.

Panda fans in the United States were left heartbroken earlier this month when pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji, left the D.C. zoo for China on Nov. 8, making Washington panda-less for the first time in 23 years.

The trio’s November departure was the fourth time members of the zoo’s giant panda family have departed for China but, before, there had always been giant pandas who stayed behind when the others left.

This year, the giant pandas were escorted out of the zoo in three large shipping crates and boarded a freight plane at Dulles International Airport. The trio’s departure followed a wave of goodbyes: a nine-day “Panda Palooza” celebration, final visits by generations of panda fans, and one couple’s return to the scene of their 2016 engagement at the zoo’s panda house.

The three pandas were among eight that had lived at the zoo since 1972 when, following a visit from President Richard M. Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon to China, Premier Zhou Enlai gave the United States two 18-month-old pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing.

Ling-Ling died suddenly in 1992, and an ailing Hsing-Hsing was euthanized in November 1999. The zoo was then without giant pandas until December 2000 — a gap of just over a year — when Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived.

Aside from Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian produced three surviving cubs. Zoogoers from Washington and around the country have had the chance to experience D.C.’s giant pandas, and 10 presidents have held office since they came to town.

Xi’s talk of pandas came on the heels of his face-to-face meeting with Biden in which the leaders agreed to restore communications between the two countries’ militaries. The meeting helped lower tensions between the two superpowers, which also agreed to strengthen counternarcotics cooperation in the hopes of lessening the United States’ fentanyl crisis.

The two agreements — and Xi’s hint at the possibility of more pandas — are a rare sign of cooperation between the world’s two most powerful countries, which have been at odds over trade, cyber- and maritime security, human rights, and a range of other pressing issues.

Yasmeen Abutaleb and John Hudson contributed reporting.

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China praises ‘warm’ Xi-Biden meeting in change of rhetoric

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/16/china-praises-warm-xi-biden-meeting-in-change-of-rhetoric

China has praised the “warm” meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in California, in a marked shift of rhetoric after months of negotiations aimed at restabilising what has been a testy relationship.

A readout from China’s foreign ministry said the US-China relationship was “the most important bilateral relationship in the world” and that “a stable and growing China is good for the United States and the whole world”.

Official rhetoric from Beijing has moved in recent months from a more aggressive stance on the US to a more conciliatory tone. A recent editorial in People’s Daily, the official Communist party newspaper, called the US an “old friend”.

Hua Chunying, China’s assistant minister for foreign affairs and a foreign ministry spokesperson, emphasised the warmth between the US and China at a personal and political level.

She posted a photo on social media of the two leaders smiling together, with Biden apparently showing Xi a photo on his phone of the Chinese president as a young man in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Hua also posted an image of the Flying Tigers, a squadron of US fighter pilots who helped to defend China against Japan in the second world war, saying the American and Chinese people would “never forget” each other. In recent months, Beijing has revived the story of the Flying Tigers as an example of positive US-China cooperation.

Still, China’s readout of the Xi-Biden meeting noted that “the United States should not scheme to suppress and contain China”, language that analysts said echoed cold war rhetoric of “containment”. Beijing has previously accused Washington of perpetuating a “new cold war” but Thursday’s readout said Biden had reaffirmed that this was not his aim.

Speaking at a dinner on Wednesday hosted by the US-China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations, Xi praised the Flying Tigers and said he kept in touch with some of them via letters.

Xi said the biggest question for the US and China was “are we adversaries or partners?”.

He said: “China never bets against the United States, and never interferes in its internal affairs. China has no intention to challenge the United States or to unseat it. Instead, we will be glad to see a confident, open, ever-growing and prosperous United States. Likewise, the United States should not bet against China, or interfere in China’s internal affairs. It should instead welcome a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.”

Xi received a standing ovation after his speech at the dinner. Attenders reportedly included Apple’s Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk. Tickets for the event started at $2,000 (£1,612) per person. Analysts said Xi’s decision to address a business-focused audience reflected his desire to emphasise that China was open to foreign companies.

Behind the warm words exchanged between Xi and Biden, there are still several points of tension. One of them is the fact that with China’s economy struggling, the US has tightened restrictions on the export of advanced technology. Rules affecting the export of chipmaking technology, designed to limit China’s ability to develop the most advanced semiconductors, come into effect on Thursday.

At the meeting on Wednesday, Xi said such measures “seriously hurt China’s legitimate interests”.

There was little progress on the biggest point of tension between the two superpowers: Taiwan. Experts in China – and some in the US – are worried that the Biden administration’s rhetorical support for the self-governing island, which China claims as part of its territory, is deviating from the “one China” principle, which the US officially backs.

Xi said the US should “stop arming Taiwan and support China’s peaceful reunification”, adding that “the Taiwan question remains the most important and most sensitive issue” in the bilateral relationship. Biden said the US would continue to arm Taiwan as a deterrent.

Chinese concerns about US support for Taiwan reached a zenith last year when the outgoing speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited the island. That resulted in an angry backlash from Beijing and the suspension of several channels of communication, including on drugs control and the military.

Those tensions showed some signs of easing on Wednesday as the two leaders agreed to restore military dialogues and reached an agreement on fentanyl. A few days earlier, the US and China put out a new joint climate statement.

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From spy balloons to chocolates: Chinese propaganda frames Xi“s US pivot

https://reuters.com/article/apec-usa-china-pivot/analysis-from-spy-balloons-to-chocolates-chinese-propaganda-frames-xis-us-pivot-idUSKBN32B0KK

What a difference eight months makes: In March, shortly after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, President Xi Jinping blamed it for challenges faced by China's economy, complaining of "all-round containment".

Then on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi agreed to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production, showing tangible progress in their first face-to-face talks in a year at a summit in California.

While key issues like U.S. sanctions on chip exports remain unresolved, Chinese state media is now striking a different tone, focusing on Xi's smile during past trips to Iowa, fireside chats with its residents, and sharing chocolates with Biden.

Clips from the summit on China's social media show the two leaders walking in gardens at the site of the talks, and chatting by Xi's official limousine, with discussion of U.S. tech curbs and tension over Taiwan featuring less prominently.

The Chinese rhetoric seeks to show Xi to a domestic audience as Biden's equal and highlights his desire to stabilise ties as China grapples with a moribund economy, analysts say. It also sends a signal of approval to the bureaucracy and businesses on engaging with Americans.

"It reflects a very strong desire on the part of Chinese leaders to stabilise relations with the U.S. and push for more cooperation," said Li Mingjiang, international relations scholar at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"There's this fundamental message in the Chinese narrative that the Chinese leader is capable of managing China-U.S. relations ... he is the one who gives instructions to the U.S. and the American leadership on how to manage the bilateral ties."

China's domestic propaganda machine worked overtime to pave the way for Xi's pivot, also evident at a dinner with U.S. executives, when he pledged that China was ready to be a "partner and friend" of the U.S. and there was "plenty of room for bilateral cooperation".

With official ties still strained, Chinese state media has focused on relations between the people and emphasised the potential for cooperation and importance of the summit for the Asia-Pacific region.

"The international community watches with bated breath, recognising the weight of this meeting," the state news agency Xinhua said in an editorial. "When China-U.S. relations are good, the region benefits; when relations sour, the region suffers."

Xinhua also ran a 1,500-word report reminiscing about Xi's past visits to the U.S..

"Xi never forgets his American friends and believes that people hold the key to state-to-state relations," the news agency said.

The report cited Iowans who helped coordinate a 1985 trip Xi made to the state as a young official, describing his "smile that would not stop", and lauding his curiosity. It also described Biden and Xi sampling chocolates from a box during a past exchange.

Gary Dvorchak, an Iowan considered by Xi an old friend of China, said Xi's fondness for Iowa was genuine but that the Chinese leader also used his ties to the state for propaganda value.

“It humanises him and it gives him an ability to show a connection to the American people and bypass the American media,” said Dvorchak.

“They use it when they need to bolster his support domestically or internationally,” said Dvorchak, who said he thought it was canny public relations.

“Part of the reason it works is because those feelings are real.”

But even on censored Chinese social media users found ways to make critical comments on the tone of the official commentary.

"Where did the relations improve? Tariffs, chips, studying overseas, none of these are mentioned."

On the Weibo Chinese microblogging site, the most popular hashtag on Thursday still harked back to tension over Taiwan: "China must be and will be reunified."

Whiplash in China as state media does U-turn on U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/16/xi-biden-meeting-china-summit/2023-11-15T21:20:54.160Z

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting with President Biden was an unmitigated success, according to the Chinese version of events, as state media made an about-face so abrupt it caused whiplash on social media.

After months of criticizing the United States for trying to contain China’s growth, state-controlled Chinese websites were filled Thursday with reports on the “positive, comprehensive and constructive” talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.

This left more than a few Chinese social media users confused. “I haven’t been online for two days … a look at the trending topics shows the atmosphere between China and the U.S. is as if a couple in an arranged marriage fell in love,” read one post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. It was later removed, apparently by censors.

The sharp shift in tone came as the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met for the first time in more than a year in an attempt to ease tensions and reestablish stronger lines of communication after a series of disputes.

Biden and Xi agree to restore military ties, helping ease tensions

They also made progress on transnational issues, cementing a deal to restart climate talks and agreeing to strengthen counternarcotics cooperation in the hopes of easing the United States’ fentanyl crisis.

Xi’s trip came at a time when U.S.-China relations had reached their lowest point in more than 40 years, but analysts said the Chinese leader needed a win because he is facing so many headwinds at home: a slowing economy, latent unhappiness among young people in particular and questions about his leadership decisions.

Xi was eager to appear the global statesman in his meeting.

“The world is big enough to accommodate both countries, and one country’s success is an opportunity for the other,” Xi reportedly told Biden, according to state media coverage. The phrase immediately became one of the top trending topics on Weibo.

For audiences inside China, Xi’s comments positioned China as a global superpower able to take the long view without compromising on key issues.

The meeting showed Beijing’s willingness to find a way to cooperate, rather than compete, with Washington, said Zhao Minghao, a professor of international relations and senior fellow at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

In a breakthrough, U.S. and China agree to restart climate talks

“Xi is saying that China and the U.S. are powerhouses on equal footing,” he said. “What Xi wanted to get across was that China rejects seeing competition as a policy goal, an endgame or the nature of China-U.S. relations.”

The modest results of the four-hour meeting between Biden and Xi were hailed as a success in Chinese state media.

Xi did not appear with Biden at the news conference after their meeting, but the official interpretation of events is conveyed through state broadcasters and other news outlets.

“China and the United States’ respective successes are opportunities for each other,” read a commentary released by state news agency Xinhua. “Great power competition is not the backdrop of this era and cannot solve the problems facing China, the United States and the world.”

This progress at the summit on issues like climate change and fentanyl was largely thanks to China, according to nationalist commentator Shen Yi.

“We can see that the Chinese side took the initiative in this meeting,” Shen said in a column on the news site Guancha that was published after the meeting. “Obviously, the United States needs such a meeting more than China does, and the Biden administration most of all.”

Xi and Biden meet amid a fracturing world order

There were plenty of signs in the weeks leading up to the meeting that Beijing wanted to ease tensions. Chinese state media had been taking a notably warmer approach toward the United States, with a flood of editorials praising incremental steps like an increase in passenger flights as steps toward positive relations.

Just hours after Xi landed in San Francisco on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV advocated for more communication between the two superpowers in a short video commentary.

“Those big influencers who have made a fortune by criticizing the United States are rapidly changing the topic these days,” wrote one Weibo user in the lead-up to the summit, noting the thaw. “The trend has turned 180 degrees.”

Others were amused. “As Sino-U.S. tensions ease, my first thought is: When will Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars come hold a concert in Shanghai?” said one.

Tobin reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Li from Seoul.

[World] China: 25 dead, scores hospitalised in Shanxi building fire

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-67435673?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Xi tells US firms China ready to be partner and friend

https://reuters.com/article/apec-usa-china-xi/xi-tells-us-firms-china-ready-to-be-partner-and-friend-idUSKBN32B0B6

China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States, and there is plenty of room for bilateral cooperation, President Xi Jinping told American executives in San Francisco on Wednesday, as Beijing looks to reassure global business and counter his country's struggles to entice foreign investment.

The U.S. executives dined with Xi on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum following a day of talks between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden, aimed at steadying relations between the world's two largest economies.

Xi received a standing ovation and applause as he entered the room, and was applauded again as he took the stage to speak.

The world needs China and the U.S. to work together, and it is wrong to view China as a threat and play a zero-sum game against it, Xi said in a speech to the audience, including some hand-picked by Beijing.

"Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others. China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone."

He also expressed sympathy for the American people over the fentanyl crisis. China and the U.S. reached an agreement to curb fentanyl production in earlier talks between Xi and Biden.

The high-security dinner was a chance for companies to hear directly from China's leader as they search for ways to navigate China's economic slowdown, a U.S. push to "de-risk" some American supply chains away from China, and uncertainty caused by China's expanding security rules.

The event attracted nearly 400 in attendance including business and government officials and academics.

Executives from U.S. corporate giants such as Apple's (AAPL.O) Tim Cook, BlackRock's (BLK.N) Laurence Fink, Broadcom's (AVGO.O) Hock Tan, Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio and Pfizer's (PFE.N) Albert Bourla were at the dinner tables.

Courses served included a seasonal vegetable salad, an option for coffee crusted black angus flat iron steak or a vegetable curry with squash and rice, a fruit tart and wine.

U.S. Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo also attended the event with other U.S. officials.

US, China, Southeast Asia defence officials meet amid crises

https://reuters.com/article/asean-defence/us-china-southeast-asia-defence-officials-meet-amid-crises-idUSKBN32B07M

Defence ministers and officials from the United States, China, Russia and Southeast Asia gathered in Indonesia on Thursday for a meeting where they are expected to discuss geopolitical crises in and outside the region.

Defence ministers in Southeast Asia's regional bloc ASEAN called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution in Myanmar, as conflicts are deepening there.

"Indonesia is of the view that the region's multiple security issues, ranging from traditional and non-traditional threats, can only be solved by extensive open and inclusive global collaboration," Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defence minister said in an opening speech on Thursday.

Prabowo did not mention any specific issues in the speech, but he named on Wednesday the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and Myanmar as "hot spots that can destabilise the region."

Among those attending are U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin and Jing Jianfeng, China's deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.

Other countries participating on Thursday are Australia, New Zealand and others, while Myanmar is absent.

Myanmar's generals have been barred from high-level meetings of the 10-member ASEAN since they seized power in a 2021 coup and unleashed violence on those who challenged their takeover.

The meeting comes as U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met on Wednesday on the outskirts of San Francisco, where they agreed to resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production.

Indonesia and Malaysia have also called for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Visiting Washington this week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo pressed Biden to do more to end Israel's war with Hamas.

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US, China Promise to Work Together on Climate Goals

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/us-china-promise-to-work-together-on-climate-goals/7356208.html

United States climate diplomat John Kerry and Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua recently agreed to restart a suspended climate working group.

The agreement came at meetings from November 4th to the 7th held in Sunnylands, California, a joint statement released Wednesday said. The statement comes ahead of the COP28 meeting, the United Nations gathering on climate change, in Dubai starting on November 30.

The officials said their countries would aim for new targets for renewable energy and limits on methane gas and plastic pollution. They said some differences remain, like how to stop using nonrenewable energy.

"The Sunnylands statement is a timely effort of aligning the United States and China ahead of COP28," said Li Shuo. He is incoming director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society in Washington, D.C.

China and the U.S. are the world’s two biggest producers of pollution from gases that some scientists say are warming the atmosphere. Li described the relationship between the two countries as “a precondition for meaningful global progress.” He said the Sunnylands agreement will help “stabilize the politics” ahead of the yearly United Nations climate talks in Dubai.

The re-launch of the working group marks the normalization of the climate relationship between the two countries following a break in 2022. That was when former U.S. House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims.

The officials said the working group will deal with areas in which the two countries can work together. They include reducing methane, increasing efficiency and the economic system in which materials are reused, called the “circular economy.” Additionally, the group will exchange information on policies and technologies to reduce pollution. It will also aim to reduce forest loss and plastic pollution.

‘Unrealistic’

China continues to approve new power plants that burn coal to guarantee its energy security.

The United States and China said they support a declaration by the G20, a group of the world’s largest economies, to triple global renewable energy production ability by 2030. They also agreed to speed up the use of energy resources other than coal, oil and gas.

The joint statement said they expect “meaningful” reductions in pollution from the power industry before 2031. But China described the idea of ending nonrenewable energy as “unrealistic.”

The statement listed additional points of agreement. Both sides said they agreed to include methane in their 2035 climate goals. It is the first time China has made such a promise. They also promised to start “at least five” large projects in which they will work together to capture, use and store carbon by the end of 2030.

Li said COP28, the yearly UN climate meeting, still "has its work cut out," especially with nonrenewable energy.

“China also needs to consider what further ambition can be brought to COP,” he added. “Stopping the approval of new coal power projects is a good next step.”

I’m Gregory Stachel.

 

David Stanway reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

renewables – adj. restored or replaced by natural processes: able to be replaced by nature

align – v. to join a group that is supporting or opposing something

global – adj. involving the entire world

stabilize – adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change

efficiency – n. the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy

triple – v. to cause (something) to become three times as great or as many

ambition – n. the strong desire to reach a goal or aim