Biden: "US-China Relations to Begin Thawing Soon"

"Zelensky Promises Not to Attack Russian Territory with F-16s"

Regarding the cooling of relations between the United States and China due to incidents such as the reconnaissance balloon affair, U.S. President Joe Biden said that the two countries' relationship will "begin to thaw very soon."

AFP, Bloomberg, and other news agencies reported that President Biden said at a press conference after the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on the 21st (local time) that the U.S.-China relationship, which had cooled after the U.S. shot down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon that violated U.S. airspace earlier this year, is expected to thaw soon.

He stated, "The incident in which the U.S. shot down a silly balloon carrying reconnaissance equipment equivalent to two cargo trucks weakened the goodwill gained from the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November last year."

He also emphasized, as stated in the G7 summit joint statement, "We are not trying to decouple from China, but rather to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China."

The Biden administration has maintained tense relations with China since its inception, and relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after the Chinese reconnaissance balloon violated U.S. airspace.

On November 14 last year, U.S. President Joe Biden (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the G20 summit held in Bali, Indonesia.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Recently, a shift in the atmosphere was sensed after Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, and Wang Yi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Political Bureau, met in Vienna, Austria.

On the day, President Biden said he is reviewing whether to lift sanctions on Li Shangfu, China's Minister of National Defense, whom U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to meet next month in Singapore.

Li has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018 when he served as the head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, responsible for the procurement and development of weapons for the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Bloomberg reported that President Biden has been optimistic about meeting and having phone conversations with President Xi Jinping but did not mention how soon such talks between the leaders would take place.

Amid Western consideration of providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine through an 'international coalition,' President Biden also stated at the press conference that he received a "firm commitment" from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the F-16s provided by the West would not be deployed on Russian territory.

He added that the F-16 fighter jets "can be used anywhere within Ukraine where Russian forces are present."

Ukraine has been requesting new fighter jets such as the F-16 from Western countries, and Western nations, which had been hesitant, recently shifted toward support through an international coalition. President Biden approved U.S. training for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16.

On the same day, the White House stated in a press release, "President Biden reaffirmed the United States' commitment to support the Ukrainian people against Russia's invasion during his meeting with President Zelensky," and "will continue security assistance including $375 million worth of ammunition and equipment."

It added, "The two leaders also discussed efforts to support training for Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16 with allied countries and to strengthen Ukraine's air defense against Russian missile and drone attacks."