Video analysis of the Biden-Xi meeting: "It's about risk management, that's all there is to it"

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A walk in the countryside as if they were best friends. Yet the states that lead them have long been competitors and their bilateral relationship is complicated. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leaders of the world's two most powerful nations, met away from the major Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in California at a historic estate with an expansive garden.

Xi and Biden have known each other for a very long time, unusually long for two leaders of this political caliber. This is due to the fact that they were both vice-presidents of their countries for a long time and have already met several times in this capacity. The personal chemistry, I always have the impression when you see them interacting, is relatively good. These are not impulsive characters, nor are they newcomers to politics. So, judging by the challenges they face, these are actually the two right types of politicians who met here."

But the diplomatic courtesies of this meeting could not hide the differences on many political issues.

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Whether China and the United States are ultimately rivals or partners is a fundamental and all-encompassing question. The logic is quite simple: if you consider the other as the main competitor, the greatest geopolitical challenge and an ever-approaching threat, it will inevitably lead to wrong strategies, wrong actions and wrong outcomes."

Bernhard Zand, DER SPIEGEL"
What we were talking about today was managing. To prevent a major escalation from breaking out. Be it in the South China Sea, where two planes may meet, or with an almost unforeseeable incident like the one a good six months ago, such as this Chinese spy balloon that appeared here over the USA. So it's about risk management, as they say in English, about risk mitigation. That's certainly all there is to it. Sino-American relations remain very, very difficult. The intention, presumably on both sides, was to create some kind of atmosphere in which people could talk to each other, in which the communication, which was almost completely broken down, especially during the Trump presidency and then during the pandemic, could be restored, to have common ground."

Remarkably, it was not enough for a joint appearance or even a joint statement in the end. On the contrary, after the meeting, the US president reiterated a statement that had recently caused diplomatic upset.

Reporter:
"Mr. President, would you still call President Xi a dictator after today? That's a term you used earlier this year."

Joe Biden, U.S. President:
"Well, look, he's one. I mean, he's a dictator in the sense that he's the one who governs a country that's a communist country, which, in any case, is based on a completely different form of government than ours."

A statement that prompted the Chinese Foreign Ministry to react that it was an "extremely false statement" and an "irresponsible political manipulation".

Bernhard Zand, DER SPIEGEL:
"I think it's illusory to imagine a harmony between China and the U.S. in this century. The two states are too big, too powerful and see themselves as too exceptional, too unique, for a harmonious relationship to be expected. As well as Biden and Xi may get along on a personal level, and as much as they have practiced and practiced dialogue, they are doing so again today. This cannot hide the fact that the relationship between Washington and Beijing is difficult, remains difficult and hopefully remains peaceful."