President Joe Biden meets Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday outside of San Francisco, as the two leaders prepare for a gathering of Asia-Pacific economies. Biden said he is focused on stabilizing the rocky relationship between the two superpowers.  

Laying out his aims ahead of the meeting, Biden said his priority is “to get back on a normal course of corresponding” with President Xi Jinping and his government. 

But the meeting, on a bucolic estate near San Francisco, comes after a bruising year for China-U.S. relations, and ahead of a presidential election in Taiwan, the breakaway island China claims. Administration officials told VOA that the White House continues to support the ‘One China’ policy, but also wishes “to see Taiwan’s democracy continue to flourish.” 

John Kirby, director of strategic communications at the National Security Council, said on Taiwan, the White House’s message is consistent.

“The president will make it clear on Taiwan that there is no change to our ‘One China’ policy, that we do not support Taiwan independence, that we do not want to see the tensions across the Taiwan Strait devolve into any kind of conflict, certainly not military, that we don’t want to see the status quo changed in a unilateral way and certainly not by force,” Kirby said.

Both leaders are in town for a summit of 21 Asia-Pacific economies, and both will meet with major CEOs, underscoring the “intense competition” – especially in terms of technology – that Biden says underpins the U.S.-China relationship.
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