Biden, Xi to discuss China’s support for Russia at APEC summit

The summit likely marks the two leaders’ final presidential meeting, as Biden will be replaced by President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.

Ukraine is on the agenda for Biden’s talks with Xi, according to the White House.

Biden is expected to voice his “deep concern” regarding China’s “support for Russia’s war against Ukraine”. This extends to North Korea’s escalating military involvement, including the deployment of 10,000 troops who “have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”.

The Pentagon has confirmed that North Korean soldiers had begun engaging in combat alongside Russian troops in Kursk Oblast. The announcement followed reports that Russia is mustering a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, to launch a counteroffensive against Ukraine in the Kursk region.

“We are increasingly concerned about the consequences for longer-term stability in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific of this deployment,” a senior White House official said, regarding Biden’s upcoming talks with Xi.

While the US has criticized China’s support for Russia, including sanctioning Chinese companies for producing drones used in Russia’s war, Biden’s status as a lame-duck president weakens his position ahead of the meeting with Xi.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged that the outgoing administration would “continue to shore up everything we’re doing for Ukraine” and that NATO would issue “a firm response” to North Korea’s deployment, but he did not say what the response would entail.

Biden and Xi last met in person on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC Summit in San Francisco, California. Russia’s war against Ukraine was one of the key topics during those talks.