US and China agree to resume military communications after summit

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• News Summary: US and China agree to resume military communications after summit
• Key outcomes of US-China Summit
• US-China truce and India’s concern

Why in news?

• Recently, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit in a year.
• In this summit, the US and China have agreed to resume military-to-military communications in an effort to ease rising tensions.

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News Summary

• The bilateral summit between US President Joe Biden and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping was held in San Francisco on the margins of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
  • APEC is a multilateral economic and trade forum formed in 1989 to promote free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • APEC has 21 member economies. The United States is the host for 2023.
• This summit is significant amidst the rising tension between the two countries.
  • The two leaders had not met in person since they held talks in Bali in November 2022.
  • Their relations nose-dived after the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February this year.

Key outcomes

• Commitment to closer communication
  • Both the leaders have agreed to resume military-to-military communications
  • Both sides also decided to open a presidential hotline.
• Steps to tackle the flow of fentanyl into the US
  • Both the leaders also decided to take steps to tackle the flow of fentanyl into the US, which has contributed to a rise in overdose deaths in the country.
    • Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.
    • Chinese manufacturing companies are a source not only of the synthetic opioid itself but of precursor chemicals which can be combined to make Fentanyl.
  • Under the deal, China will directly target companies that are producing those precursor chemicals.
• On artificial intelligence
  • The two leaders also agreed to get experts together to discuss the risks of artificial intelligence.
  • They also decided to deepen cooperation on climate change ahead of the COP28 conference in Dubai next month.
• On the issue of Taiwan
  • Xi and Mr. Biden remained far apart on the wider flashpoint of Taiwan.
  • The Chinese President told his U.S. counterpart to stop arming the island, and that reunification was unstoppable.
    • Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-ruling democracy and has not ruled out seizing it by force.

US-China truce and India’s concern

• India has little reason to worry
  • Experts believe, as US and Chinese leaders try and arrest the steady downslide in bilateral relations, India has little reason to worry about this structural shift.
  • Although, there are always concerns in India about a ‘G-2’ or a Sino-American collaboration in Asia.
  • However, the current summit was more about organising a truce in a conflictual relationship.
    • Its aim was not to restore the kind of strategic partnership that seemed possible at the turn of the century.
  • India’s own rise in the international system allows it to effectively handle any sudden shifts in great power relations.
  • For now, the word from San Francisco is that the prospect of any dramatic change in US-China relations is remote.
• Areas where India needs to pay close attention
  • Experts do believe that India needs to pay close attention to some of the new areas of US-China engagement – such as regulating artificial intelligence.
  • Potential US-China understandings are bound to have a major impact, over the long term, on the evolution of the global rules on AI.
• Need to focus on productive engagement with the Western capital
  • The Indian government and business must note the serious bid by President Xi to woo back the US business leaders.
  • India cannot bet that the ‘China option’ is no longer viable for Western businesses or get complacent about India’s attractiveness.
  • Productive engagement with the Western capital should remain a high priority for Delhi.
• Vigilant eyes on regional security issues
  • India will also need to monitor the follow-up from the conversation between the two leaders on:
    • regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific,
    • current crisis in the Middle East and Ukraine war in Europe.

Q1) What is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.

Q2) What are Hotline Agreements?

A hotline is a quick communication link between heads of states, which is designed to reduce the danger of an accident, miscalculation, or surprise attack, and especially an incident that might trigger a nuclear war.

Source: Joe Biden meets with Xi Jinping, says US, China militaries ‘back to clear, direct communication’ | BBC | Indian Express