China President Xi Jinping will probably be in San Francisco to talk with enterprise leaders attending a gathering of the Asia Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) this week. It’s his first go to to the U.S. since a 2017 assembly with then-President Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. On Wednesday, Xi is predicted to take a seat down with President Biden for his or her first face-to-face assembly in a yr.

Although not a proper state go to, it’s nonetheless a sophisticated, high-stakes sideline assembly given the deterioration of relations between the U.S. and China since January, when a spy balloon was found floating over the Western U.S. and Canada. Each nations have slapped commerce tariffs and know-how sanctions on one another and minimize off communications between their respective militaries. There have been a number of current near-misses within the Pacific involving the 2 nations’ armed forces.

The Gazette spoke with Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of Worldwide Affairs at Harvard Kennedy College and director of the Rajawali Basis Institute for Asia, about what to anticipate from this unofficial summit. The interview has been edited for readability and size.

GAZETTE: Why is President Xi coming now and why this specific occasion?

SAICH: There are two specific causes. First, I feel for him to not attend the APEC conferences would ship a sign to most of the international locations within the area that China actually has turned inward. And it will additionally give the US of America a chief alternative to place itself as a frontrunner throughout the APEC neighborhood on condition that this assembly is going down in San Francisco.

Secondly, the home state of affairs for Xi Jinping has additionally modified considerably. In March, Xi and the international minister have been each extremely vital of the US of America and actually noticed the issues within the relationship as stemming from U.S. attitudes and U.S. practices. Now, in case you fast-forward to when Senator Chuck Schumer was visiting [in October], we had feedback from Xi Jinping that he can consider 1,000 the explanation why the connection needs to be higher and couldn’t consider one why it needs to be worse.

Why that shift? I feel there are two major causes. The primary is that the Chinese language economic system is in hassle, and progress charges have slowed considerably. The rebound that was anticipated post-COVID hasn’t actually maintained, and China actually wants world engagement and funding to maintain the economic system transferring ahead. I feel it was indicative that Xi Jinping needed to satisfy first with enterprise leaders earlier than assembly with President Biden — that was nixed by the White Home. It was clear that what he needed was to attempt to use the enterprise neighborhood, telling them China’s nonetheless open for enterprise, to place strain on Washington to again off on its restrictions of exports to China.

China has been bowled over by the power of the West’s reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That has led to an surprising isolation internationally for China, which it had not anticipated. So, there’s plenty of strain on Xi Jinping to attempt to put a flooring underneath the connection.

GAZETTE: You first visited China as a pupil in 1976 and have an extended connection to that nation. How strained are relations proper now between the 2 international locations?

SAICH: Issues are as dangerous as I can bear in mind since diplomatic relations have been restored [in the late 1970s]. And it cuts throughout a complete vary of points from safety challenges, practices domestically in China, what China perceives as the US’ efforts to constrain China’s improvement and its rise. Throughout the board, there’s disagreement on nearly all the pieces, with one attainable exception of the problem of local weather change.

GAZETTE: What does Xi wish to accomplish with this go to and what points will he give attention to?

SAICH: At one stage, he’ll wish to ship the message that China is open for enterprise, that he does nonetheless welcome American funding in China. Secondly, I feel he desires to counteract what the administration calls “small yard, excessive fence.” And what it means by that may be a restricted restriction on export of semiconductors and people items that could be used for geotechnology, i.e., for army use. So, I feel he desires to push again on ensuring that the restrictions of exports to China don’t enhance the impression on different areas of the economic system.

After which third, I feel there’s going to be makes an attempt for him to push again on what he sees as U.S. alliances inside Asia that he sees as constraining China’s developments, attempting to get some assurance from Washington in regards to the angle towards Taiwan. I don’t suppose he’s going to shift the needle considerably on Washington’s view, however at the least get some encouraging remark that he can promote again dwelling, alongside the strains of “President Biden stated they’re not going to encourage independence. They’re fully against it. And they’re going to restrain any attainable actions in that path that anyone in Taiwan would possibly contemplate.”

GAZETTE: What does the U.S. hope to perform?

SAICH: I feel Washington has additionally realized that some stage of a relationship must be maintained. There are specific world challenges which can be essential to the U.S., not simply local weather change, however different issues round oceans and public well being points, and so forth., which actually can’t be resolved with out participating China not directly or one other. So, at that stage, maybe what the White Home is hoping is it would legitimize discussions between officers who’re dealing extra with the day-to-day operational points of the connection.

Secondly, Washington actually desires to revive military-to-military contacts, which have been minimize off after the wandering balloon throughout North America and likewise severely restricted after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Washington sees some capacity to speak on the army stage is extraordinarily essential.

After which, for U.S. home consumption, it would wish to at the least get to some respectable agreements a couple of stage taking part in subject for the economic system, whereas additionally exhibiting that Washington nonetheless hasn’t forgotten questions round human rights points and persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang, northwest China. One attainable space for a joint remark could be with respect to cracking down on Chinese language firms that produce and export the chemical compounds that make fentanyl.

GAZETTE: There have been a number of near-misses, within the air and on the ocean, between the U.S. and China army just lately. The Biden administration hopes to re-establish army communications popping out of this assembly. How a lot of a constructive would that be?

SAICH: It’s an enormous constructive. In such a contested a part of the world, the place accidents may instantly spin uncontrolled into a serious conflagration, having no capacity to speak is a horrible state of affairs. I heard from folks, for instance, with the balloon incident that nobody was selecting up the cellphone in Beijing. What we’ve seen traditionally, it takes a very long time for the Chinese language system to kick into responding to crises. So, some sort of mechanism for higher communication to stop the unexpected increasing into a serious battle is admittedly essential. And I hope each side can acknowledge that.

GAZETTE: Are there areas for Xi and Biden to search out widespread floor?

SAICH: What we’ve seen is local weather change envoy John Kerry and envoy Xie Zhenhua, who covers the local weather areas in China, have pretty constantly had an honest working relationship and appear to have moved the needle alongside. And that’s essential previous the subsequent COP assembly. There must be some alignment of curiosity between the U.S. and China. So that’s one key space of significance the place the 2 could possibly push forward with agreements. That, at the least, can be a very good place to begin.

GAZETTE: Each the U.S. and China have said their financial interdependence makes cooperation and open dialogue very important. Ought to the U.S. depend on something China says or guarantees, particularly given a New York Instances report this week that, in conferences along with his army, Xi has expressed the view that the connection between the nations is a zero-sum sport?

SAICH: It’s commonplace for politicians to say one factor in public after which one thing else once they’re not in public. I don’t suppose the U.S. ought to depend on something that’s stated both in personal talks or what is alleged in public as a result of we’ve seen China, throughout a spread of points, saying one factor, however performing in a different way.

Take the enterprise area, for instance. China is speaking up a constructive enterprise atmosphere, however you then see the sorts of restrictions and investigations and shutting down of data channels which have been taking place domestically in China. This appears to undercut what’s being stated publicly.

It’s fairly clear that Xi Jinping constantly has believed that the American intention is to constrain China. He additionally believes that the West is in decline whereas China is rising, and that is China’s alternative to exert higher affect in world affairs and world governance. Now, we would dispute that, however I feel that definitely drives plenty of his actual actions.

GAZETTE: Xi met a number of weeks in the past with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Final yr, they famously proclaimed the shut relationship between China and Russia had “no limits.” Any indicators that’s modified in any respect?

SAICH: I’m certain Washington goes to ask China to make use of any affect it might have on Putin to restrain the actions within the invasion of Ukraine. However constantly, it has continued to help Russia’s major speaking factors, that the state of affairs is created by the West, with the growth of NATO, and thus it’s, subsequently, primarily an issue created by the US of America.

I feel Xi and Putin’s relationship is real, could be very useful for Beijing. It’s fairly clear Russia is now the junior associate. A weakened however not unstable Russia is extraordinarily precious to China when it comes to oil, gasoline, and different uncooked supplies it must construct up its personal power for what it sees as the main drawback, the long-term strained relationship and potential battle with the U.S. The extra the U.S. will get deflected from with the ability to give attention to the pivot and switch again to build up capabilities within the Asia Pacific, the happier that may make Beijing.

GAZETTE: Does China have a favourite candidate within the 2024 presidential election?

SAICH: What I hear from folks in China is that there’s a desire for Donald Trump as a result of they suppose that will probably be very chaotic and doubtlessly detrimental for the U.S. — that’s their opinion.

They’ve been very disenchanted with the Biden administration as a result of they felt the administration would possibly pull again from a number of the measures President Trump introduced in towards the top of his administration. They discovered, in some ways, that the Biden administration might be more durable and extra constant and extra coherent in its strategy towards China. Each that it didn’t raise the tariffs that President Trump had introduced in, that it’s introduced in new restrictions round superior semiconductor exports, and that it has actually pushed exhausting to revitalize conventional alliances within the area.