USTR Representative: "Biden-Xi Jinping First Face-to-Face Meeting Sends Strong Signal to the World"

Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in charge of trade policy under the Joe Biden administration, evaluated the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 15th (local time), saying it "sent a signal that the two countries can manage this relationship well."

Representative Tai made these remarks at the New Economy Forum held by Bloomberg News in Singapore, referring to the U.S.-China summit held the previous day. She said, "This is really a good and important thing," adding, "The gestures shown in the photos of the two leaders greeting each other and standing together are very powerful."

The two leaders shook hands for 8 seconds in the afternoon and then held talks for more than three hours. Since it was their first time meeting in person, there was hope that the frozen bilateral relationship might thaw, but some assessments suggested it was merely a venue to emphasize their respective positions. Regarding this, Representative Tai analyzed, "It sends a strong signal to the world by showing that the two leaders have the capability to handle the extremely complex (U.S.-China) relationship."

Representative Tai forecasted that dialogue between the U.S. and China would continue after this summit. She said, "The two leaders instructed their senior government officials to keep communicating," and added, "I hope to continue frank and open dialogue with China going forward."

She also noted that the conversation between President Biden and President Xi seemed to cover more areas than expected. Bloomberg cited examples such as their agreement to cooperate on issues related to climate change and food security, and the fact that they raised concerns about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Russia's nuclear threat.

Regarding the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Representative Tai said negotiations are progressing well and that an agreement could be reached within the next two years.

Meanwhile, Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State known as a "20th-century diplomat," also gave a positive assessment of the U.S.-China summit. Attending the Bloomberg event via video, Kissinger viewed the summit as a kind of "bridge-building" necessary between the world's two largest economies, the U.S. and China.

He said, "The two leaders who met briefly will come to understand the consequences of the economic disasters and military blows inflicted on each other," emphasizing, "What we can say today is that the method of discussion has been agreed upon and a general statement has been issued. There is still a longer road ahead (that the two countries need to resolve)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.