Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, expressed the need to ensure that rivalry does not turn into conflict and their desire to rekindle dialogue between Washington and Beijing during their long-awaited meeting.

The nearly four-hour meeting at a country house about 40 kilometers from San Francisco resulted in the resumption of high-level contacts between the militaries of the two superpowers, which had been suspended for more than a year due to the visit of the then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, in Taipei.

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden agreed to restore high-level communication between the Armed Forces of the two countries, Chinese state media reported.

The differences between the two superpowers, however, remain unbridgeable, especially on the issue of Taiwan. The summit, carefully organized to suggest the restoration of calm in the relationship, did not actually resolve any of the thorny issues in China-US relations.

President Xi, however, agreed to take, according to the Americans, measures to significantly reduce the production and trafficking of fentanyl. The highly potent synthetic opioid is produced with chemicals sourced primarily from China and is responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the US each year.

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The announcement is welcome news for President Biden, who is campaigning for re-election and has been widely accused by his Republican opponents of not doing enough to combat drug trafficking.

Washington and Beijing also decided to discuss artificial intelligence, forming a joint expert group.

Xi Jinping, faced with a worsening economic and social situation in his country, did not in any way want to give the impression that he is weak regarding Taiwan, above all. The status of the island, which Beijing considers its province and where presidential elections will soon be held, remains a central issue causing friction.

Joe Biden demanded from his Chinese counterpart to respect the electoral process in Taiwan, confirming Washington’s deliberately ambiguous position: it does not support its independence, saying however that it will defend it if there is an attempt to occupy it by force.

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The Chinese President, for his part, called on his US counterpart to stop arming Taiwan, stressing that reunification is inevitable, according to Chinese diplomacy.

Washington also expects China – a partner of Iran and Russia – to maintain balance in major international crises, such as the Israel/Hamas and the war in Ukraine.

The US President said once again at the beginning of the session that his goal is to responsibly manage the rivalry between the two countries, so that it does not drag out or turn into a conflict.

His Chinese counterpart, who has repeatedly warned against the intolerable consequences of a possible conflict, ruled, in the official English translation of his position, that the two countries cannot turn their backs on each other.

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