The U.S. and China disagree on so many things, across so many spheres, that other world leaders are increasingly warning of a deeper rupture that could split the global economy.
With the stakes rarely higher, U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Bali, Indonesia, for his first in-person meeting with China’s Xi Jinping since taking office last year with promises to try to keep the relationship from getting worse and to reduce the risk of war over Taiwan. But the mood in both Washington and Beijing is only trending toward more confrontation, especially over the island that China claims as its own.
Biden will show up for the Monday meeting, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. local time in Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit, with a better hand than anticipated after Democrats posted better-than-expected results in the midterm elections, including retaining Senate control. That will give him more room to maneuver and make it harder for Republicans to scuttle his foreign-policy agenda.