The presidents of USA, Joe Bidenand of China, Xi Jinpingheld a meeting of more than four hours that sealed an agreement to stop the tensions between the two largest global powers, which had been impacting international markets and the geopolitical and commercial relations of several countries for a year, including Uruguay.
The leaders began their first meeting in a year with a handshake in the Filoli Gardenand ended the meeting with a walk through the green areas of this property 40 kilometers from San Franciscoreported AFP.
“I just concluded several hours of meetings with President Xi and I think they were some of the most constructive and productive discussions we have had,” Biden told the press alone at the end of the meeting, in which, when consulted by a journalist, he said who still considers the Chinese president a “dictator.”
“It’s a term we used before. He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a communist country, which is based on a completely different form of government than ours,” the American explained.
China had cut off military communications with Washington after the then speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosivisit Taiwan in 2022. The decision to restore them, sealed yesterday at the summit, was of “crucial importance,” Biden said. “Misunderstandings on both sides can cause real problems with a country like China” he added. “And I think we’re making real progress.”
The leaders also reached an agreement in the fight against fentanyl: China agreed to take measures to reduce the production of ingredients for the synthetic opioid that is at the center of a health crisis in USAreported high-level officials from both countries.
Xi held a meeting with businessmen hours later and stated that China “it does not seek spheres of influence and will not wage a hot or cold war against any country.” “I believe that once opened, the door of relationships with USAit will not close again,” he considered.
“If one side sees another as its main competitor, its biggest geopolitical challenge, and a constant threat, this can only lead to wrong decision-making, wrong actions and undesirable results,” he added. “China is ready to be a partner and friend of USA“he insisted.
Uruguay in the middle of the dispute between two titans
The rapprochement between USA and China It occurs on the eve of the president’s strategic trip Luis Lacalle Pou to Beijing to try to unblock a trade agreement that, in light of the obstacles it has had, will not be of the magnitude of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Negotiations with China for an FTA were de facto frozen with the return of Lula da Silva to power in Brazil. This motivated China’s decision to prioritize an agreement with the Mercosuras proclaims Brasilia, a key commercial – and geopolitical – partner for the Asian giant.
However, Uruguay’s interest in approaching Beijing commercially did not go unnoticed by Washington, which quickly developed a proposal to bring what it considers one of the most solid democracies in the region to its territory.
This is how the bipartisan project for the Economic Partnership between the United States and Uruguay, which will reduce, if approved by the US Congress, tariffs on Uruguayan products that are not limited by trade quotas. Among them are citrus fruits, honey, wood, wine, caviar, lamb, wool and leather. But it would also represent progress for the export of services, mainly those linked to IT and software.
And, in a closer materialization, there is the good harmony between President Luis Lacalle Pou and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, at the first summit of heads of State of the APEP (Alliance of the Americas for Economic Prosperity).
At the local level, furthermore, state Joined and China They staged a small cold battle during the tender for the Ministry of Defense’s OPVs. A case that, if you will, ended successfully for Washington because the Executive finally ruled out buying the ocean patrols from the Chinese state shipyard after strong pressure from the Department of State through the American embassy in the Uruguay.
Source: Ambito
