OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
3:55 PM – Wednesday, November 15, 2023
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) conference, marking the first conversation between the two leaders in a year.
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The APEC summit is being held at the Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, Calif., about 25 miles south of San Francisco.
Biden tweeted that he and Xi “made real progress” during today’s summit, and emphasized the importance of understanding one another.
The two leaders reportedly engaged in discussions covering various pressing issues, such as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Biden said that he aims for China to use its influence with Iran to prevent the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict. He was also rumored to urge Xi to leverage his influence in order to prevent North Korea from supplying weapons to Russia.
The leaders were anticipated to reach agreements on measures to reduce the continuous trafficking of fentanyl from China to Mexico and the U.S.
Another topic, regarding reopening military communication channels, was brought up in the discussion. Beijing had closed the communication channels in response to a visit from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she traveled to Taiwan last year. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control.
Biden is expected to hold a solo press conference once the summit has concluded. The two presidents began their meeting just after 2 p.m. ET.
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By: OAN
