Xi in the center, Biden on the sidelines

PUBLISHED on November 24, 2024

The contrast could not have been starker on the sidelines of the APEC Peru 2024 summit. While Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined ambitious infrastructure investments and increased multilateral engagement, outgoing US President Joe Biden s t's focus is on modest aid programs and rhetorical appeals for stability, signaling the two superpowers' divergent priorities. And where Xi seized the opportunity to expand China's influence by holding high-level meetings in Peru and Brazil, Biden avoided reporters, skipped key photo ops and seemed eager to return in Air Force One as soon as the summit ends.

A Financial Times opinion piece illustrates this contrast succinctly, highlighting how two group photographs – one taken at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the other at the G20 summit – told the story of Biden’s apparent defeat in the “battle for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation”. Latin America” against China.

“In both images, President Xi Jinping stands in the foreground, flanked by his Latin American host. President Joe Biden, by contrast, lingers at the end of the back row in one photo and is absent in the other,” the FT article reads.

Xi Jinping entered the APEC summit with an agenda that highlighted China's long-term aspirations for global influence.

Xi Jinping's remarks at the summit focused on three key proposals aimed at shaping the future of the Asia-Pacific region.

“First, countries in the Asia-Pacific region should build an open and interconnected paradigm for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific,” said a document released by China's Foreign Ministry. It expands on Xi's vision to explore trade deals in the digital and green sectors and gradually expand a network of high-level free trade zones with a global reach. “Today, we will adopt a new document to guide this process… which will give new impetus to our efforts for an open economy in the Asia-Pacific,” Xi was quoted as saying.

His second proposal emphasized green innovation as the region's driving force. “Asia-Pacific countries should seize the opportunities presented by the new wave of scientific and technological revolutions and industrial transformations, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of AI, quantum information, scientific life, health and other pioneering areas,” the document explains. Referring to the trade war that the United States and its allies have tried to trap Beijing in, Xi stressed the importance of fostering an open, fair and non-discriminatory innovation ecosystem.

The third proposition calls for a vision of development that is universally beneficial and inclusive. “Countries in the Asia-Pacific region should strengthen economic and technical cooperation, increase support for developing economies and disadvantaged groups, and work together to enlarge the pie and distribute it equitably, ensuring that a larger “many economies and people benefit from development,” the document reads.

In his speech, Xi unveiled initiatives such as the Global Cooperation Initiative on Cross-Border Data Flows and others aimed at increasing the income of residents in the Asia-Pacific region and promoting the development of industrial clusters. small and medium-sized businesses.

The approach is consistent with both the well-established framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its efforts to break into traditionally neglected global markets. Over the past two decades, Beijing's trade with Latin America, a key region of the APEC bloc, has grown from $12 billion in 2000 to $450 billion in 2023. Xi's visit to Peru and the inauguration of the $3.5 billion Chancay megaport illustrate China's strategy of combining high-stakes infrastructure projects with diplomatic overtures to secure influence.

Xi's rhetoric at APEC was also aimed at strengthening China's position as the main partner of choice for the Global South. Its emphasis on equitable economic development and support for disadvantaged economies contrasts with Western models that many perceive as overly prescriptive.

In contrast, Biden's participation at the summit was marked by cautious pragmatism. Apparently paralyzed by Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House, his meetings with Xi on the sidelines focused on conflict prevention, stabilizing U.S.-China relations, and resolving specific bilateral issues such as synthetic drug flows and AI nuclear safeguards. Biden's rhetoric often emphasized competition, not conflict, emphasizing the importance of maintaining “mutual respect.” Its offers to APEC countries, particularly in Latin America, pale in comparison to China's massive investments. As Xi inaugurated a transformative megaport for Peru, Biden announced nine Black Hawk helicopters for a $65 million counter-drug program.

“It was such a stark contrast,” the FT quoted Michael Shifter, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, as saying, “You have this huge Chinese megaport project that speaks to Peru's history dating back to the Incas and research greatness. And then what Biden delivered was additional helicopters for coca eradication. This seems completely outdated and obsolete.

A similar dynamic played out in Brazil, where Biden's $50 million Amazon conservation fund was overshadowed by Xi's state visit and promises of multibillion-dollar investments. Xi and his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed nearly 40 agreements on trade, technology and environmental protection during their talks in the Brazilian capital. “This is another historic moment in the development of China-Brazil relations,” Xi said, adding that China is ready to make the two BRICS titular nations “golden partners.”

Divergent visions

Xi and Biden's contrasting approaches highlight deeper ideological and strategic differences between the two superpowers. China's economic engagement, particularly in the Global South, centers around strategic investments in critical sectors such as mining, infrastructure and digital technology. Citing Margaret Myers of the Inter-American Dialogue, the FT article notes that 60% of Chinese investments in Latin America, for example, are in high-tech sectors. This strategy ensures both immediate economic benefits for host countries and long-term leverage for Beijing.

In contrast, U.S. initiatives have often been conditional and focused on governance reforms, environmental conservation, and military aid, reflecting a more traditional model of engagement that some observers now view as outdated. Alex Contreras, who was Peru's finance minister during the construction of the Chancay megaport, was quoted as saying in the FT article: “If you have to choose between no investment and Chinese investment, you will always prefer investment.” »

Washington's smaller-scale commitments also reflect broader constraints in its foreign policy. While Biden's American Partnership for Economic Prosperity has been touted as a counterweight to China, analysts say it lacks the concrete resources to make a significant impact. This asymmetry raises questions about the United States' ability to maintain influence in a rapidly changing world order.

With the return of Donald Trump in 2025, there is little expectation of an increase in US trade and investment in Latin America or elsewhere in the Global South. Trump's previous term was marked by isolationist policies that largely ignored Latin America, and a similar approach could push these countries even further into China's orbit.

The implications of these contrasting approaches extend across the APEC region. Xi's vision of an interconnected Asia-Pacific, driven by green innovation and digital transformation, aligns with China's broader ambitions to rewrite the rules of global trade. Hosting APEC in 2026 provides Beijing with an additional platform to consolidate this vision. Moreover, Xi's presentation of China as a champion of multilateralism stands in stark contrast to the increasingly introspective rhetoric of American politics.

The last meeting between Xi and Biden

Meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, Xi stressed the importance of the United States and China maintaining “mutual respect.” Without mentioning Trump by name, he welcomed the victory of the new American president in the November 5 elections.

“The United States recently concluded its elections. China's goal of a stable, healthy and lasting China-US relationship remains unchanged,” Xi said. “If we see each other as rivals or adversaries, if we pursue vicious competition and seek to harm each other, we will ruin the relationship, or even set it back,” he warned.

“We haven't always agreed, but our conversations have always been open and frank. We never made fun of each other. We were on par with each other. And I think that’s vital,” Biden said, reading from prepared remarks.

“These conversations avoid miscalculations and ensure that competition between our two countries does not escalate into conflict. »

In a statement released by the White House, Biden reportedly called for greater cooperation among law enforcement agencies to stem the flow of synthetic drugs into the United States, and the two leaders discussed the challenges posed by AI, particularly with regard to nuclear weapons. “Both leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons,” the statement said.

Biden also confirmed that the United States' “one China policy” remains unchanged:

“He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral change in the status quo on either side, that we hope that disputes between the two sides will be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. » indicates the White House press release.