Fentanyl & Restored Military Dialogue Major Focus Points From Xi-Biden Meeting

MNI (Australia): The meeting between China President Xi and US President Biden has concluded. Some of the major headlines out of the announcement were already announced prior to the meeting. US officials noted that one of the major objectives of the meeting was getting China to help combat the fentanyl problem. They are now looking for China action on this front.

• The other major hope from the meeting was a restoration of military ties between US and China. This appears to have been achieved, with both sides agreeing to restore high-level military communications. Biden also asked Xi to formalize bilateral military ties between the two countries.
• The US side believes that a degree of stability between the two countries will ensue following this meeting (BBG), although there are no further plans for a follow up meeting at this stage.
• Taiwan was a discussion point, with Xi stating that China has no plans for military action against Taiwan in coming years. However, Xi reportedly laid out conditions that might prompt military action (RTRS).
• The sides still appear some distance apart on economic issues, with Xi stating that US export curbs are harmful, while Biden stated that forced repatriation of intellectual property was discouraging investment (RTRS).
• In the AI/tech space, both sides agreed that further discussions on the risks involved would be beneficial.