Biden-Xi Planned Routine Virtual Summit 'Could Be Disaster' - Former Pentagon Analyst

Biden-Xi Planned Routine Virtual Summit 'Could Be Disaster' - Former Pentagon Analyst

The virtual summit meeting between Presidents Joe Biden of the United States and Xi Jinping of China on Monday may be a routine interaction by the two leaders but could backfire as a diplomatic disaster, retired veteran Defense Department analyst Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2021) The virtual summit meeting between Presidents Joe Biden of the United States and Xi Jinping of China on Monday may be a routine interaction by the two leaders but could backfire as a diplomatic disaster, retired veteran Defense Department analyst Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

"This summit is merely to 'check a box' and get it over with, or it could be a disaster, hardening China even more and inadvertently creating new roadblocks and dead-ends for US engagement on trade and security concerns, Kwiatkowski said.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the US-China top-level virtual summit would take place late on Monday. Xi and Biden will discuss strategic issues concerning the future of bilateral relations, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said earlier on Monday.

However, several senior US officials have already publicly indicated that Biden may take a very hawkish approach to put China in its place, Kwiatkowski cautioned.

"Biden's 'Asia Tsar' Kurt Campbell, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his US Trade Representative Katherine Tai have all made public statements that reveal a hawkish take on China.The Department of Defense is 'pivoting' to Asia, in line with Campbell's 2016 book relating to American 'Statecraft in Asia,'" she said.

Tai recently spoke about getting China to support a more US worker- centered trade policy, with a list of expectations and the use of many tools like tariffs to defend US economic interests, Kwiatkowski recalled.

"Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken talks tough on China and recently Biden himself incorrectly stated that the United States had a commitment to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion. It is likely that he misunderstood what Blinken and Sullivan had told him, but he got their meaning perfectly and blurted it out," she said.

Biden and Xi will probably discuss trade demands, climate chastisement, industrial espionage and promotion of democracy and liberty concerning Taiwan and the Uighurs with Biden seeking to lecture the Chinese leader, Kwiatkowski suggested.

"We can expect the similar kind of generalized nagging that we saw with Biden's conversations with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," she said.

Kwiatkowski explained that she felt pessimistic about the overall tone that Biden would impose on his conversation with his Chinese counterpart.

"I am pessimistic that (Biden's) advisors are preparing him to be gracious to Xi in any area. We should not expect to see Biden indicate that he will militarily back away from the South China Sea concerns. The Biden administration is at least as diplomatically inept as its predecessor," she said.

Biden was bringing demands to the talks and few or no concessions while Xi was talking more constructively about "win-win" scenarios," Kwiatkowski pointed out.

"Both countries have serious economic and financial challenges: Biden wants to borrow and spend his way to next year. ... Interestingly, China is showing fiscal restraint and starting to recognize some internal problems created by its past policies," she said.

Biden and his advisers had shown no indication of any long term plan to stabilize and improve relations with Beijing, Kwiatkowski observed.

"I think they hope merely to 'check a box' and get (the virtual summit) over with. This idea of a November meeting in the first term parallels that of (former president Barack) Obama's first term. Many of the same people are serving again in the Biden administration, and I think they see it as a deadline of sorts," she said.

Blinken and Sullivan were both neoconservative and hawkish on China, Kwiatkowski noted.

Both officials "probably hope that Biden will get through the video conference without insulting Xi too awkwardly, or embarrassing himself too much," she said.

Biden was probably hoping more for a boost in his poor domestic poll ratings than for any substantive progress on serious issues with Beijing, Kwiatkowski also said.

"Perhaps, the video conference will make it look like Biden is in charge and competent. Any upward bounce in his domestic polling would be nice and often presidents try to create some overseas news when the domestic news is going from bad to worse," she added.

Unlike in the United States, China's leadership has been looking to reduce government stimulus and spending, and has a plan to balance their budget, Kwiatkowski concluded.