US President Biden meets China’s strongman Xi Jinping for the first time in Bali. Both agree on Russian nuclear threats. The announcement to Putin: “A nuclear war should never be waged”. This is how the press commented on the meeting.
“Nordbayerischer Kurier” (Bayreuth): “It used to be a matter of course that Biden and Xi shook hands. That changed with the Russian Ukraine campaign. A handshake with Putin would be unthinkable for Biden. If the strategically much larger opponent is received in this way, then that also means something.”
“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “Sometimes detours lead to the goal. US President Joe Biden’s meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping was a success. Even if a trade war between the USA and China is not off the table, nor has the danger of the military annexation of Taiwan been averted. But the encounter between Xi and Biden in Bali is a political signal that the two superpowers prefer to resolve their conflicts peacefully rather than relying on confrontation. ‘The world is big enough for our two countries’ is the political formula for this. It leaves enough leeway and shows how exaggerated the criticism of Chancellor Scholz was for his trip to China and how little chance of success a foreign policy that is based exclusively on moral standards is.”
“Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “First impressions suggest that both the American and the Chinese President are aware of their responsibility. But the situation is tricky. The rising world power China and the USA, which defends its sole top position, have to separate two things that are intertwined. On the one hand, short-term, current world events require cooperation. And on the other hand there is a change in a world order. The USA is clinging to the tried and tested, China wants to ram in new pegs as quickly as possible. It’s not a mistake if at least the tone of the actors becomes more conciliatory.”
“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is not a role model for China’s leadership. On the contrary: he is currently demonstrating how a country catapults itself out of the international community to its own detriment. Putin governs a poor, sanctions-tested country. China’s President Xi Jinping suspects that he cannot follow this path. Xi cannot expect the demanding new middle classes in China’s glittering metropolis to suffer losses in prosperity like in Russia. He prefers to talk to US President Joe Biden now. The markets will thank him.”
“Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” (Halle): “It’s good that there are markets. They function according to their own laws, they draw the attention of those in power everywhere to undesirable developments. And they can bring about a new mobility in politics. Here are the reasons why Xi sat down for talks with US President Joe Biden ahead of the G20 summit in Bali. Beijing recognizes that the alliance with Russia proclaimed in February offers the Chinese a few years of oil and gas at a preferential price, but no long-term prospects.”
“Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”: “Recently, Xi has had problems that he cannot ignore. Because his course is now leading to discord on the markets: the lowest growth in China for decades, alarming real estate bubbles and youth unemployment of 20 percent. Here – and nowhere else – are the reasons why Xi met with US President Joe Biden three hours before the G20 summit in Bali for an unexpectedly friendly talk. In the meantime, Beijing has recognized that the new alliance with Russia announced in February offers the Chinese a few years of oil and gas at a preferential price, but no long-term prospects for the future. China still needs trade with the US and EU.”
