Joe Biden-Xi Jinping’s teleconference may have given the public the impression that the two countries’ expectations would be low, but the future stance of the two leaders will be largely determined by what was said at the conference.
The crucial issues discussed between the two leaders were:
• Global warming
• the control of nuclear weapons
• energy issues and de-lignification of China’s economy
• the future of Taiwan.
What is certain is that suspicion prevailed on both sides.
The possibility of a Chinese invasion in Taiwan
China has announced its intention to double its nuclear weapons by 2030, an issue that has made talks between the two leaders more difficult. The US does not want to enter a nuclear arms race at this time, as it once did with the USSR, because it would cause great budgetary costs to the US while limiting the competitiveness and viability of the US economy. The question is how the US president will persuade the Chinese not to increase their nuclear arsenal.
On the other hand, China is already ready for a military invasion in Taiwan. Taiwan is aware that in the current period the Chinese Armed Forces now have the ability to block any movement of the Taiwanese Armed Forces in the ports and airports respectively of the island. Any move by the Taiwanese military is expected to be hit with precision and severity, while large numbers of Chinese navy and Chinese aircraft will block Taiwan’s ability to communicate and supply.
This capability of China is the negotiating paper that the Chinese president will use against his American counterpart.
How the US will move
The whole planet had its eyes on the meeting of the two most powerful Powers in the world and on the results that it would produce. Given that the evolution of relations between them will affect the future of the planet.
The US definitely wants to save time which is why the US wants its confrontation with China to enter into a manageable predictable traffic and given that the US can not deal simultaneously internally (pandemic, poverty etc.) and externally (China, Russia, NATO, correction of diplomatic failures / mistakes during the Trump Presidency and other) problems respectively.
At the same time, China knows that it can not expect to achieve much by putting pressure on the President of the United States. The President of China first waits for the Congress of the Communist Chinese Party to take place, gaining enhanced supremacy, and then he will try to lead the confrontation with the United States on more dynamic paths.
