Biden-Xi Meeting Covers Unlevel Playing Field, Export Controls, Fentanyl

China said it will curb exports of precursor chemicals that make fentanyl and other synthetic opiates, after a previous crackdown on fentanyl trafficking led to the chemicals being sent to Mexico, where cartels turn them into opiates.

That was the biggest trade-related outcome from a several-hour meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in California on Nov. 15.

The U.S. readout of the meeting said: "President Biden emphasized that the United States and China are in competition, noting that the United States would continue to invest in the sources of American strength at home and align with allies and partners around the world."

It also said that he raised his concerns about human rights abuses in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

"They welcomed the resumption of bilateral cooperation to combat global illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, including synthetic drugs like fentanyl, and establishment of a working group for ongoing communication and law enforcement coordination on counternarcotics issues," the readout said.

At a press conference after the meeting, Biden said about China: "It’s clear that we object to Beijing’s non-market economic practices ... that disadvantage American businesses and workers and that we’ll continue to address them. And I named what I thought a number of those were."

The Chinese readout of the meeting emphasized cooperation. "China and the United States have broad common interests in a wide range of areas, including traditional areas such as the economy, trade and agriculture, as well as emerging areas such as climate change and artificial intelligence (AI). Under current circumstances, the common interests between China and the United States have increased, not decreased. It is important to fully utilize the restored and new mechanisms in foreign policy, economy, finance, commerce, agriculture and other fields, and carry out cooperation in such areas as counternarcotics, judicial and law enforcement affairs, AI, and science and technology," it said.

It also scolded the U.S., suggesting it has a colonizing mindset. "The United States should not scheme to suppress and contain China," it said.

The readout specifically criticized export controls. "President Xi Jinping pointed out that U.S. actions against China regarding export control, investment screening and unilateral sanctions seriously hurt China’s legitimate interests. Development of China is innovation-driven. Stifling China’s technological progress is nothing but a move to contain China’s high-quality development and deprive the Chinese people of their right to development. China’s development and growth, driven by its own inherent logic, will not be stopped by external forces. It is important that the U.S. side take China’s concerns seriously and adopt tangible steps to lift its unilateral sanctions so as to provide an equal, fair and nondiscriminatory environment for Chinese businesses."

The Chinese said that Biden said the U.S. and Chinese economies are mutually dependent, and said that the U.S. "does not seek to contain or suppress China’s development or to decouple with China."

"The meeting was positive, comprehensive and constructive. It has charted the course for improving and developing China-U.S. relations," the Chinese concluded.

David Russel, vice president at the Asia Society's Asia Society Policy Institute, responded to the meeting, saying in a statement: "Xi came to San Francisco with two missions: to stabilize relations with the U.S. so he can deal with his issues at home, and to restore international investor confidence in China’s economy. He made some headway on the first with Biden; the second will be more challenging. The business community has heard promises about 'reform and opening' from Beijing before, but business risk in China is not going down. Problematic laws and restrictions on foreign businesses are not going to disappear. It will take concrete and sustained action, not platitudes, for Beijing to rebuild confidence."

He said there may not be follow-through on the synthetic opiate promises, but that the face-to-face meeting between Xi and Biden is "a big improvement."