Biden, Xi to Discuss Potential Economic and Military Thaw in California |
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a highly anticipated bilateral meeting (FT) at an estate south of San Francisco today. Xi has traveled to California for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Biden said yesterday the talks are meant to get relations “back on a normal course” (Reuters) after a period of heightened tensions; it will be only the second in-person meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office in 2021.
The four-hour discussion is expected to span economic, environmental, and military affairs. Biden and Xi are also expected to discuss the ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, as well as the status of Taiwan. Chinese officials said Xi would likely bring up concerns over U.S. restrictions on materials needed to build chips for artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Following a separate meeting between the two countries’ climate envoys, Washington and Beijing announced they agreed to restart formal climate negotiations that have been frozen for more than a year. As part of that announcement, China agreed to include methane emissions (Reuters) in its 2035 climate goals for the first time.
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“Presidents Donald Trump and Biden also focused on Asia, hoping that improved diplomatic ties between Arab countries and Israel were proof that Washington doesn’t need to pay so much attention to that part of the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine last year and now the Israel-Hamas war have changed that,” CFR expert Ian Johnson writes in this In Brief. “In this context, Biden will hope for a smooth summit with Xi and that the two sides can put aside differences, at least until Election Day next year.”
“Cooperation between the US and China has been key in recent years to unlock climate progress, paving the way for global pacts. There have been concerns that China could try to block stronger emissions-cutting language,” Bloomberg’s John Ainger and Jennifer A Dlouhy write.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Israeli Forces Enter Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital in Anti-Hamas Raid |
Israel’s military said it was conducting a “precise and targeted operation” (AP) against Palestinian militant group Hamas at the hospital, where hundreds of patients are trapped without electricity and medical supplies are dwindling. Washington said U.S. intelligence supports Israel’s assertion that Hamas is using the hospital to support military purposes. Israel said its soldiers brought medical teams and supplies.
Palestinian territories: A truck carrying a UN diesel fuel shipment crossed from Egypt into the Gaza Strip today for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Reuters reported. The director of the UN relief agency in Gaza said the fuel was only 9 percent of what is needed to sustain daily lifesaving activities.
This In Brief by CFR’s Christina Bouri and Diana Roy details the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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U.S. Halts Plans to Move Forward on Indo-Pacific Trade Pact at APEC Summit |
The White House canceled plans to conclude critical parts of a trade initiative with Indo-Pacific countries at the APEC summit this week after pressure from prominent U.S. Democrat lawmakers, the Financial Times reported. The vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute said the move “shocked our trading partners.”
In this article, CFR expert Inu Manak unpacks the Indo-Pacific trade pact.
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Myanmar Insurgents Claim Capture of Junta Forces |
A rebel group said today that dozens of members of Myanmar’s security forces had surrendered or been captured (Reuters) as rebel insurgents have gained ground across the country. A junta spokesperson did not comment on the matter.
Sri Lanka: The Supreme Court ruled that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother were among thirteen former leaders responsible (BBC) for the country’s worst-ever financial crisis. The ruling was largely symbolic, as it carried no penalty other than to pay the legal fees of the claimants.
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USAID to Resume Food Aid Across Ethiopia After Five-Month Pause Due to Theft |
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will restart nationwide food aid deliveries (AP) next month after restoring aid delivery to around one million refugees in October. The resumption comes with new safeguards to track the aid. Washington had earlier halted the program due to a widespread corruption scheme among local officials.
Zimbabwe: An activist for the main opposition party was found dead (NYT) in the capital, Harare, police said yesterday. A party spokesperson said Tapfumaneyi Masaya had been abducted while campaigning over the weekend. It is the latest incident in a string of violent episodes following Zimbabwe’s national election in August.
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR expert Michelle Gavin discusses Zimbabwe’s electoral aftermath.
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UK’s Top Court Rules Plan to Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Is Unlawful |
The unanimous decision upheld a previous appeals court ruling (CNN) that the United Kingdom (UK) government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful. The plan was first announced in April 2022 but has been widely criticized by humanitarian groups and held up by legal challenges.
Ukraine: Authorities charged two politicians and a former prosecutor (NYT) with treason, saying they collaborated with a Russian intelligence agency in an attempt to connect President Biden’s family to corruption in Ukraine.
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Venezuela Says EU Election Observers Are Unwelcome Despite Deal for Free Vote |
The head of Venezuela’s congress, Jorge Rodríguez, said he would not invite (Bloomberg) European Union (EU) monitors to next year’s election after the bloc recently extended sanctions on fifty Venezuelan officials. Last month, Venezuela’s government agreed to invite five organizations, including the EU, to monitor the vote. Rodríguez said the EU monitors were unwelcome as long as sanctions remained in place.
Brazil: The number of fires this month in Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, has already surged to its highest level on record (Reuters) for November, according to the country’s space research agency. Weather experts point to a combination of climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon.
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House of Representatives Passes Temporary Funding Bill to Avoid Shutdown |
The House voted 336–95 (NPR) yesterday to approve a two-tier spending bill to keep some government offices open through mid-January and others through the beginning of February. Leaders of both parties in the Senate have endorsed the proposal (WaPo). The bill contains no additional military aid for Israel or Ukraine, in opposition to what President Biden originally proposed, but avoids large spending cuts sought by some Republicans.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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