BEIJING - As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the lush Filoli estate outside San Francisco on Wednesday, United States President Joe Biden, who was waiting to greet him, pulled out an iPhone to show the Chinese leader a picture of a man posing in front of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
“I know,” Mr Xi said with a smile. “It’s me 38 years ago.”
“You haven’t changed a bit,” Mr Biden quipped, to laughter from the gathered crowd of staff and fellow officials.
Later, while walking Mr Xi to his Chinese-made Hongqi limousine after the meeting, Mr Biden remarked that it was a “beautiful vehicle”, much like the American presidential “Beast”.
Breaking into a smile, Mr Xi chuckled as he asked an aide to show Mr Biden the car’s interior.
These vignettes were among many touches of personal diplomacy on display during Wednesday’s highly anticipated meeting between the two leaders.
Associate Professor Alfred Wu from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said Mr Xi was “trying to make himself more personable for the domestic audience, to show that he can hold his own against the leader of the US”.
“But whether he can convince the American public that China isn’t a threat, that is another thing altogether,” he added.
The special summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting comes amid a recent thaw in bilateral relations.
Ties had hit a nadir earlier in 2023 after the US shot down a Chinese weather balloon it said was used for spying, and Washington enacted a raft of restrictions and sanctions on Chinese companies, preventing their access to cutting-edge chip technology, citing national security concerns.
Wednesday’s four hours of face time between leaders of the world’s two largest economies have thus been aimed at putting a floor under the relationship and setting the stage for cooperation despite their underlying differences on a range of issues.
During the official meeting, Mr Biden even relayed wishes for a “Happy Birthday” to Mr Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan – to which Mr Xi responded that he was so busy he had forgotten.
After a lunch of ricotta ravioli with artichoke chips, tarragon roasted chicken and a dessert of almond meringue cake, both men were seen chatting casually during a walk on the grounds of Filoli.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL2FzaWEvZWFzdC1hc2lhL29sZC1waG90by1iaXJ0aGRheS13aXNoLXJhdmlvbGktbHVuY2gtcGVyc29uYWwtZGlwbG9tYWN5LW9uLWRpc3BsYXktZHVyaW5nLXhpLWJpZGVuLW1lZXRpbmfSAQA?oc=5
2023-11-16 21:00:00Z
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