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The first meeting at the Bali G20 Summit was held on November 15, 2022. The G20 Summit in Bali was fully attended by G20 members ranging from the United States to China.The US and China met bilaterally the day before the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, in a historic meeting between the two superpowers, which had been strained due to the Taiwan conflict.
United States President Joe Biden, arrived in Bali, Indonesia, in the evening of November 13, 2022. He was received by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism Agency, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, with plans to stay in Indonesia until November 16. Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping and his wife arrived in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14, 2022. They were received by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and the governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster.
On the one hand, the US is a strong superpower country that wants to be in power and does not want to be outdone by competition. However, it seems that Joe Biden is becoming the leader of this superpower by setting aside his ego because he wants a cold war between China and the United States. Although China and the United States have recently had relations that are on the verge of boiling over, the international community hopes that their meeting not trigger the seeds of a cold war between the two.
China, which is known for its toughness, also wants to witness the G20 Bali Summit and meet Joe Biden directly, only between China and the US. Besides that, even though the third lion was not present in person (Russia), Xi Jinping and Joe Biden were here in person and even met face-to-face. China feels that it has to be present at every Asia-Pacific meeting; maybe China also doesn't want a new cold war after this.
Joe Biden said that this meeting was very important and that much was discussed, not only geopolitical issues but also the global economy. And that will be one of the considerations for the two leaders, especially as they sit down and talk about a delicate matter for a few hours.
Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping sat across from each other, warmly greeting each other. This meeting was held in the midst of increasing tension between the two superpowers in the global arena. They even smiled and shook hands; the face-to-face meeting lasted almost 3.5 hours. And that includes a lengthy meeting between the two countries that is heating up.
"As leaders of the two countries, we share a responsibility, in my view, to demonstrate that China and the United States can manage differences, prevent competition from becoming anything close to conflict, and find ways to work together on pressing global issues," mentioned Biden.
During the meeting, Xi Jinping said that nothing could replace face-to-face meetings, even though they often communicated via video conference and sent letters to each other. Xi Jinping also invited Joe Biden to chart the best course and take the necessary steps to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries in all fields.
Xi Jinping said that, "currently the relationship between the US and China is in such a situation that we are all concerned about it, because this is not merely the fundamental interests of the two countries and people, and that is not what the international community expects from us, as leaders of two major countries we need to chart the right direction for the US-China relationship."
While Joe Biden said "thank you" to Xi Jinping for congratulating him at the inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021. Joe Biden also congratulated Xi Jinping on extending his term as President of China. Joe Biden is also committed to maintaining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and he also emphasized that every country complies with international traffic rules.
Joe Biden said, "It is clear—he is clear—and I am clear—that he will stand up for American interests and values, promote universal human rights, defend the international order, and work alongside our allies and partners." Also, "China's policy has not changed. "We propose changing the status quo unilaterally on both sides, and we are committed to maintaining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait," said Joe Biden.
When discussing the issue of the Taiwan conflict, Xi Jinping said that "the Taiwan question is the essence of China's core interests, the political cornerstone of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations." But the two heads of state continued to talk calmly without expecting any more conflict, and Joe Biden did not want conflict between the US and China.
Not only about Taiwan, the two countries also discussed the current situation of Russia and Ukraine. Joe Biden emphasized that the use of nuclear weapons was not allowed, and he ensured that the US would visit China in the framework of following up discussions in Bali. Biden believes that there is no new cold war between the US and China, nor are there any attempts on the part of China to attack the country of Taiwan.
Joe Biden stated bluntly, "What I want from the meeting with Xi is to lay out what the two countries have in common. "Understand what the interests of China are and what the interests of the US are. Then see if there is a conflict, and if there is, how to overcome it and what the solution is."
Joe Biden also said the United States supports China and will not change the "One China Policy." Joe Biden also emphasized that there will not be a new cold war between China and the United States, as the global community is worried about. "I don't think there has been an immediate attempt on the Chinese side to attack Taiwan," admitted Joe Biden.
Dr. Eugenio Cusumano, an expert in international relations and a professor of politics at the University of Messina, gave his comments during the live BBC broadcast of the Bali G20 Summit and the meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden. He said that this was a very important meeting for several reasons. As we heard that Xi Jinping and Joe Biden already knew each other, they came to meet face-to-face, with each sitting as president.
They also sat down, and Biden came to this meeting from a position of domestic power, with Xi Jinping having obtained an unprecedented third term as China's leader in the Communist Party Congress. Dr. Eugenio Cusumano said that paradoxically, speaking of the war in Ukraine, he previously thought that the war in Ukraine offered some additional opportunities for dialogue.
On the other hand, Russia's predicament in Ukraine may have shown China that pushing Taiwan now and trying to take over Taiwan by military means in the short term is not a good idea, and even more so if China accepts because the US wants to put more pressure on Russia when it invades, then maybe the US is willing to retaliate with some concessions on some other fronts, like their stated limits on exports of semiconductors in microchips to China.
If only Joe Biden and Xi Jinping did not meet, there would be open conflict. Where the opportunity for conflict is very large, among the triggers are the South China Sea, Taiwan, and the Aukus, which are very worrying for China. In this meeting, Joe Biden really wanted to know China's perspective on the US. Because the United States regards China as its primary competitor.
Keeping in mind that in the current era the strength of the United States is declining while that of China has increased by 1 point, which causes a condition of balance between the two powerful countries and opens opportunities for open conflict. Therefore the meeting between the two can reduce the tension from the heating up of relations between the US and China. China also thinks that every time there is a big activity in Asia Pacific it must be represented.
As for the impact of the meeting of the two leaders of this superpower country, it is certain that Indonesia will be affected. which gave birth to eight new initiatives for Indonesia-US cooperation. If we can handle them well, Indonesia will become a major country in the fields of knowledge and technology, as well as the practice of 17 systems of sustainable development goals in Asia and the Pacific.
Among the eight new initiatives of US-Indonesia cooperation are the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact, Sustainable Fishing and Marine Biodiversity, Carbon Capture, Coast Guard Capacity-Building, Investing in Food Security and Critical Supply Chains, Reducing Plastic Pollution, Greening Public Transit, and Investing in Cutting-Edge Energy Technology.
We think the meeting between these two powerful countries will be one of the deciding factors in the balance of power between them. Where they compete in power, politics, economy, international trade, cultural influence, strength, and so on. With this meeting, China and the United States could at least put out a little of the fire that was almost smoldering between the two and make the hearts of the international community a little calmer about the worries about the relationship between the two lion countries.
Timothy R. Heat also commented that the meeting is considered good because it can help the G20 carry out its mission of economic coordination among the 20 largest economies and may help recover some of the global economic problems of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and uncertainty as a result of geopolitics.
According to Joe Biden, China is neither more confrontational nor more conciliatory. Joe Biden sees China as usual, straight forward and to the point. And is China willing to compromise on every issue? "Yes," Biden answered himself. Joe Biden said that it seems China understands why he can say that wisely. Joe Biden also said the recent election in the US still leaves a bit of uncertainty and has sent a very strong message around the world that the US is ready to play.
The meeting of the two countries that have the largest economies in the world is what the global community has been waiting for. As the host of the Bali G20 Summit, Indonesia hopes that there will be good results from the bilateral meeting between China and the United States. Bearing in mind that Indonesia is a country with free and active politics that loves world peace, as stated by Indonesia, "Stop war!" and of course this emerald country of the equator wants peaceful relations between China and the US as well as other countries.
