President Xi Jinping said China wants to be friends with the US and said his nation won’t fight a war with anyone, one of his clearest remarks yet proclaiming a desire for peaceful ties between the world’s two largest economies.
“Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others,” Xi said at Wednesday a dinner with business leaders alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Leaders from APEC members are slated to hold a raft of bilateral and multilateral meetings at the confab — the largest international event in San Francisco since the United Nations charter was signed in 1945.
Top chief executive officers are also set to attend, including Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai and Jane Fraser.
The US is the 2023 rotating host for events tied to the 21-member APEC group, which originated in a vision laid out by Australia in the late 1980s. The US kicked off annual APEC summits in 1993, and — in an era of enthusiasm for globalization — championed its use for trade-barrier reductions.
(All time stamps San Francisco, GMT -8)
Xi Says China Seeks to Be Friends With US, Won’t Fight ‘Hot War’
“China does not seek spheres of influence and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone,” Xi said shortly after he met with US President Joe Biden.
“The number one question for us is, are we adversaries or partners?” Xi said, referring to US-China ties. “If one sees the other side as a primary competitor, the most consequential geopolitical challenge and the pacing threat, it will only lead to misinformed policy making, misguided actions and unwanted results.”
The remarks at a dinner with business leaders gave Xi the chance to talk up the Asian nation to some of the most influential investors on the planet. So far, China’s post-pandemic reopening has failed to spur the level of global growth many had hoped it would deliver.
Dalio, Cook, Citadel’s Zhao Win Coveted Seats at Xi Dinner Table (8:13 p.m.)
BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink, Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook are among the top US executives to be seated at Xi’s dinner table as the Chinese leader tries to woo foreign capital while in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns will also be seated with Xi, according to a program seen by Bloomberg News.
Other big names granted a place beside China’s most-powerful leader since Mao Zedong at the event include Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc., Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio, and Peng Zhao of Citadel Securities. -Jacob Gu
Biden Again Calls Xi a Dictator, Showing Limits of Cooperation (6:08 p.m.)
The four-hour summit between Biden and Xi earlier Wednesday resulted in agreements to restore high-level military communications, combat fentanyl and open a dialogue over artificial intelligence. Biden said in a post-summit press conference the talks were “some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had.”
Biden was responding to a question from a US journalist about whether he stood by a comment he made in June calling Xi a dictator. The remark was denounced at the time by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which called the comment “absurd” and a “provocation.”
“Well, look, he is,” Biden said at the end of the press conference. “I mean he’s a dictator in the sense that he is the guy who runs a country which is a communist country based on a form of government totally different from ours.” -Justin Sink and Jenni Marsh
Microsoft’s Nadella Touts Promise of Artificial Intelligence (4 p.m.)
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella told fellow CEOs about the software company’s work on artificial intelligence, and predicted the technology will help “drive broad inclusive economic growth.”
“There’s no question that we are living through a time of historic economic, social and geopolitical uncertainty,” Nadella said at the APEC CEO Summit. “At the same time, we believe this new age of AI will help us address some of our most pressing challenges, while creating brand new opportunity for every individual company and communities.”
Microsoft, in partnership with startup OpenAI, is revamping its product line to add AI features. The partnership has helped Microsoft gain corporate customers excited about the new technology. Earlier Wednesday, the company introduced its first custom-designed AI chip and cloud-computing processor to help run artificial intelligence tools. -Shirin Ghaffary
China’s Xi and Japan’s Kishida To Meet Thursday: Yomiuri (3:50 p.m.)
Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold a summit Thursday to reaffirm their “mutually beneficial strategic relationship,” the Yomiuri newspaper of Japan reported.
The Xi-Kishida summit would be the first between the two in about a year and comes after the neighbors have been bickering over subjects including the discharge of wastewater from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima, semiconductor export restrictions backed by the US and the fate of Japanese citizens detained in China. -Jon Herskovitz
Biden, Xi Strike Deals on Military Communications, Fentanyl (3:43 p.m)
Biden and Xi agreed to restore high-level, military communications, combat fentanyl and hold a dialogue about artificial intelligence.
The meeting, which lasted over four hours, also produced an agreement to increase flights between the two countries next year, according to Xinhua news agency.
The carefully choreographed meeting went multiple sessions - including a working lunch featuring herb ricotta ravioli, heritage chicken, and almond meringue cake - with the pair and their top aides huddling in a secluded century-old Georgian manor south of San Francisco. -Michelle Jamrisko and Jacob Gu
Biden Says He Made ‘Real Progress’ With Xi (2:17 p.m.)
After meeting with Xi, Biden said he made “real progress.”
“There are critical global challenges that demand our joint leadership. And today, we made real progress,” Biden said in a post on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.
“I value the conversation I had today with President Xi because I think it’s paramount that we understand each other clearly, leader to leader,” Biden said. -Lauren Dezenski
California’s Newsom Sees Climate as Chance for Cooperation (11:30 a.m.)
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last month met with Xi in China, said that he hoped the Biden-Xi summit Wednesday would provide an opportunity for the US and China to outline areas of cooperation on climate policy.
“We have to manage our strategic competition,” Newsom said at the APEC CEO Summit in San Francisco. “Climate is the ultimate equalizer.”
During his eight-day visit in China, Chinese officials remarked on the similarities in how California and China were experiencing climate change, with historic droughts followed by periods of record-breaking rain and deadly floods, the governor said. -Karen Breslau
Xi Tells Biden Unrealistic for One Side to Remodel the Other (11:29 a.m.)
The China-US relationship is “the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” Xi told Biden in an opening speech.
“For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,” Xi said. “It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other and conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides.”
Biden acknowledged the difficult conversations ahead.
“I’ve always found our discussions straightforward and frank,” he said in his opening remarks. “We haven’t always agreed, which was not surprised anyone, but our meetings have always been candid straightforward and useful.”
“We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. And we also have to manage it responsibly,” Biden added. -Justin Sink and Michelle Jamrisko
Biden, Xi Meet in Person for the First Time in a Year (11:17 a.m.)
Biden and Xi met in person Wednesday, shaking hands and kicking off their first meeting in more than a year with hopes of easing tensions.
The meeting was held south of the APEC summit in San Francisco on the sweeping grounds of the Filoli estate on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz mountains. The leaders greeted each other on a red carpet unfurled outside the secluded century-old Georgian manor.
Their talks are also expected to include discussion of artificial intelligence, the status of Taiwan, and conflicts involving Ukraine and Israel. Chinese officials are likely to seek the rollback of export controls, tariffs and restrictions on investment in the US. -Justin Sink and Michelle Jamrisko
Pfizer CEO Says He’ll Attend CEO Dinner With Xi Tonight (10:44 a.m.)
Pfizer Inc.’s CEO confirmed he’ll be among business chiefs attending a dinner with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, as the Chinese leader tries to woo foreign capital to the world’s second-largest economy.
Albert Bourla declined to specify who else was on the guest list, as he spoke on the sidelines of the APEC meetings. Details around the dinner have been closely guarded. Its hosts, the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations and the US-China Business Council, had in recent days remained silent over which Chinese leader would attend the event and its location.
Representative Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, has claimed dinner attendees were paying $40,000 to sit at the Chinese leader’s table. -Gabrielle Coppola and Jacob Gu
Malaysia’s Leader Makes Plea for US-China Collaboration (9:31 a.m.)
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the first leader to address the APEC CEO summit, made a plea to the US and China to talk more and boost collaboration on big global issues like climate change. Developing countries can’t be forced to choose between the two superpowers, he said ahead of the Biden-Xi meeting later Wednesday.
“Countries like Malaysia can’t be forced to see the world and the great powers in the Cold War mindset,” Anwar said. “This Cold War mindset must end.”
Malaysia is one of the 14 countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Washington’s bid to bolster its economic alliances in Asia as a counterweight to China. It also, however, belongs to trade blocs led by China. -Shawn Donnan
Protesters Harangue Delegates Near CEO Summit (9:00 a.m.)
APEC attendees were greeted with a labyrinth of checkpoints and knots of protesters at various corners of San Francisco Wednesday morning. Blocks away from security checkpoints surrounding the conference center, crowds protesting Israel’s war in Gaza merged with purple-jacketed protesters from the Service Employees International Union chanting against free-trade policies. Elsewhere, protesters in yellow rain jackets and masks held a sign that said, “Stop trade attacks on climate action.”
About 30 protesters wearing “Take down the XiCP” sweaters were lining both sides of the street near the hotel Xi is believed to be staying in. Organizers say 400 people will be out to protest later.
Inside the summit, Alfred Kelly, executive chairman of Visa, and Kevin Ali, CEO of pharmaceutical company Organon, opened up the CEO summit with a panel discussion with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Organon acknowledged the tensions gathering outside the conference, urging attendees to “turn all this dissonance into resonance. Regardless of which economy we call home, we know there are certain standards and ideals that will benefit all people.” -Gabrielle Coppola
Visa Pledges $100 Million to Women-Led, Small Businesses in APEC
Visa Inc. promised $100 million to support underserved small and micro businesses in APEC economies.
The funds will be made available over five years “to advance digital financial inclusion, stimulate job creation and increase access to capital to drive economic mobility,” Visa said in a statement Wednesday. -Steve Dickson and Paige Smith