It took the APEC summit in San Francisco to get Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in one room. This detail of the meeting overshadows the positive message that a dialogue took place. None of the parties could find the strength to organize an independent meeting, writes Michael Radunski.
On the positive side, the tone has audibly changed. It currently sounds rational and clear, without embellishment. The US President and China’s Head of State were able to agree on some solid deals in the end.
For Joe Biden, Xi’s promise to do more against the illegal export of fentanyl was the most important domestic policy success of the summit. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk explains why some see the flood of opioids into the United States as a kind of mirror image of Britain’s opium shipments to China in the 19th century.
At the time, drug imports had severely harmed China’s society and economy. Now the United States is hoping that China’s lip service will turn into actual support in the fight against the fentanyl crisis. After all, a police state should be able to control the export of its pharmaceuticals.
We wish you a successful start to Friday
It was bound to happen. Xi Jinping had already left after his meeting with the US President, and Joe Biden’s press conference was drawing to a close when he was asked about the D-word. “Well, look, he is. I mean, he’s a dictator in the sense that here’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country based on a form of government totally different than ours,” said Biden. Not only US Secretary of State Antony Blinken feared the worst.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted furiously. Its spokeswoman called the statement “extremely wrong.” But immediately afterward, a new way of treating each other emerged: “There will always be some people with ulterior motives who attempt to incite and damage US-China relations, they are doomed to fail,” the spokeswoman said.
Attempts to damage relations between China and the US are doomed to fail – who would have imagined such a statement from a high-ranking Chinese official a few months ago? It shows what Biden and Xi achieved at their meeting on Wednesday.
There are the concrete agreements:
And these are the problems:
But the tone has changed: Rational and clear, without resorting to embellishment. Biden avoided referring to his counterpart as an “old friend,” as he used to like to do. Instead, Biden told Xi: “I value our conversation because I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication.”
Biden emphasized that China and the United States were competing with each other. “But my responsibility is to make this rational and manageable so it doesn’t result in conflict. That’s what I’m all about.”
Xi Jinping put it similarly: “For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,” adding that conflicts and confrontations would have “unbearable consequences for both sides.”
Both Xi and Biden are under domestic political pressure: Biden has a tough election campaign ahead of him, where Republicans will blame him for all the problems. If Beijing were to actually take stricter action against the export of fentanyl precursor chemicals, this would be a significant political victory for Biden.
Although Xi Jinping does not have to face an election campaign, the General Secretary of the Communist Party is also under stress. He is experiencing a rare moment of apparent weakness: China’s economic development has slowed dramatically after decades of rapid growth. The post-Covid recovery has yet to materialize.
Therefore, a late-night dinner with powerful CEOs from American companies was very important for Xi. The National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council had invited Xi to the banquet: Entry cost a mere 2,000 US dollars, and for a whopping 40,000 US dollars, you could get a seat at Xi’s table – and the huge hall was packed. Xi pleaded for more American investment in China, which is starting to decline. China’s president said things like: “China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States” – and received loud applause.
But it is equally clear that a soft tone alone does not make a good song. And here, it is important to remain realistic. Nobody should be fooled – it is not mutual sympathy that brings Xi and Biden closer together.
The leaders of the two most powerful countries in the world had not met for a year. Twelve months ago, it took the G20 summit in Bali to bring Xi and Biden together. This time, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco had to set the stage. Neither the Biden administration nor Xi Jinping’s circle had the strength to organize an independent meeting. That should give food for thought.
The meeting in Woodside also demonstrated that the fundamental differences between China and the US persist, be it in economic competition or global security matters, with all their severity – and with all the looming dangers.
Joe Biden’s biggest domestic political win at the summit with Xi Jinping was the concession by the Chinese President to step up the fight against illegal fentanyl exports. Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic and anesthetic. The opioid crisis in the USA continues to cause considerable suffering, which makes it an important election issue for Biden.
The importance of the agreement for Biden was shown on Thursday by his government’s prompt reaction. It removed China’s Institute of Forensic Science from a sanctions list. It was blacklisted due to its alleged inaction in the fight against fentanyl. The Institute is an agency under the Ministry of Public Security. Biden thus honors that Xi is serious about his concession.
Although there are other supplier countries, most of the substance comes from China, according to the US. In fact, it comes from regular pharmaceutical companies in China that supply the global market with precursors for medicines. Legal US suppliers also obtain the basic substances for their painkillers from China and India.
Fentanyl is an artificial anesthetic that is up to 100 times stronger than natural opium. Because such substances are derived from opium, they are called opioids. Fentanyl has been around since the 1960s and was originally administered in hospitals, hospices or under medical supervision as a treatment for extreme pain.
In the 2000s, pharmaceutical lobbying opened up a market for use on large groups of patients without direct supervision and at home. Many Americans became addicted. When fentanyl was reclassified as a dangerous narcotic, people who had become severely addicted obtained it from the black market. Smuggled fentanyl from China replaced legally marketed drugs.
One association regularly comes to mind: Fentanyl smuggling bears similarities to the forced supply of opium from Great Britain to China in the 19th century. This had a devastating effect on China’s economy and society.
The British defeated China with superior weaponry in two wars between 1839 and 1860 and forced the emperor to legalize the drug and open up the market for it. The reason was the British traders’ desire for profit. A juicy detail: The grandfather of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt may have profited from the sale of opium in China.
In 2022, the Chinese ambassador to the USA at the time, Qin Gang, even referred to the connection between the Opium Wars and fentanyl smuggling, but turned the argument around, saying China took the fight against fentanyl very seriously because it was once a victim of drug exports itself. (Qin was appointed foreign minister last December, but has since been ousted and disappeared).
Nevertheless, the impression is that China has not yet taken strong action against the export of the substance. This is why the issue was also part of Wednesday’s negotiations between Biden and Xi. The US believes that China has so far mainly paid lip service to the issue. After all, a police state should be able to control the export of its pharmaceuticals.
The US Department of Justice has gathered indictments against eight Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. “We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, according to a press release. The importers often falsely declared the shipments as harmless goods. Mexican cartels often act as middlemen. Payment is made in cryptocurrencies.
The prosecutors also name some companies, including
So far, the US authorities have only been able to take action after the shipments have arrived. The US side now hopes that the Chinese police will help with investigations on their side and that customs will take a closer look at exports.
German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger recently expressed her concerns about collaboration with Chinese researchers. “The Communist Party could be hiding behind every Chinese researcher, we have to be clear about that,” she said.
It is normal in modern societies for political statements to be viewed in isolation by the public. That is why I wish to fill in the gaps that emerge in the interpretation. I believe I am in a good position to judge this because I have experienced first-hand the means by which the Communist Party enforces its power-political interests. As a former human rights lawyer in China, I was detained and tortured by security forces for months before I was able to leave for the USA and apply for political asylum there.
Well, Ms. Stark-Watzinger’s words are not particularly wisely chosen. The statement is too generalized. It lacks nuance, which is why the minister should not be surprised that some accuse her of discrimination or even racism.
However, if I carefully analyze this statement, I come to the conclusion that the concern expressed by Stark-Watzinger is certainly legitimate. Of course, not all researchers from China are spies working for the party. But German researchers and political decision-makers should be absolutely aware of the situation in which researchers from China come to their country.
Fact is: Scientists from my home country are on the party’s leash – just like any entrepreneur, civil servant, sportsperson or anyone else. In practice, this does not mean that scientists have to provide information about every step they take in Germany. Many may never attract the slightest interest from the party. But if a Chinese researcher – for whatever reason – does spark the interest of a state or party organ, then the individual in question has no choice but to cooperate if they value their career, their future, or, at worst, their freedom or health.
For Germany, this situation naturally results in an obligation to be aware of possible risks when it comes to its own national security or the defense of democratic values. Military, high-tech or economically relevant research results that would benefit Germany and Europe in their systemic competition with China should not fall into the hands of the Chinese government.
That is why a spirit of welcoming Chinese scientists should prevail in Germany, combined with the necessary discretion: more caution and closer scrutiny, but without stereotyping. Anything else would be naive.
To avoid putting Chinese researchers on the spot, they should be welcomed in Germany, but never pressured to attend public events. Academic exchange should not be severed, but raising awareness of the fact that the CCP has attempted and is quite capable of instrumentalizing Chinese researchers to achieve its political goals is vital.
Teng Biao is a human rights activist living in the United States. Before he fled China, he was a lawyer and taught law at Peking University.
We know Lotus mainly as a decorative plant – or British sports car brand. However, the aquatic plant is primarily known as a vegetable in the Far East. The cucumber-like fruit can be cut into medium-wide strips. With the holes arranged like an ornament, the dish, often served with a creamy sauce, looks quite presentable. Lotus is also prized in China because the surface of the leaves, flowers and fruit is particularly liquid-repellent, so that water simply runs off, taking all dirt particles with it. As a result, the plant always remains clean and no fungi or other organisms can spread on it. This self-cleaning process is called the lotus effect.
It took the APEC summit in San Francisco to get Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in one room. This detail of the meeting overshadows the positive message that a dialogue took place. None of the parties could find the strength to organize an independent meeting, writes Michael Radunski.
On the positive side, the tone has audibly changed. It currently sounds rational and clear, without embellishment. The US President and China’s Head of State were able to agree on some solid deals in the end.
For Joe Biden, Xi’s promise to do more against the illegal export of fentanyl was the most important domestic policy success of the summit. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk explains why some see the flood of opioids into the United States as a kind of mirror image of Britain’s opium shipments to China in the 19th century.
At the time, drug imports had severely harmed China’s society and economy. Now the United States is hoping that China’s lip service will turn into actual support in the fight against the fentanyl crisis. After all, a police state should be able to control the export of its pharmaceuticals.
We wish you a successful start to Friday
It was bound to happen. Xi Jinping had already left after his meeting with the US President, and Joe Biden’s press conference was drawing to a close when he was asked about the D-word. “Well, look, he is. I mean, he’s a dictator in the sense that here’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country based on a form of government totally different than ours,” said Biden. Not only US Secretary of State Antony Blinken feared the worst.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted furiously. Its spokeswoman called the statement “extremely wrong.” But immediately afterward, a new way of treating each other emerged: “There will always be some people with ulterior motives who attempt to incite and damage US-China relations, they are doomed to fail,” the spokeswoman said.
Attempts to damage relations between China and the US are doomed to fail – who would have imagined such a statement from a high-ranking Chinese official a few months ago? It shows what Biden and Xi achieved at their meeting on Wednesday.
There are the concrete agreements:
And these are the problems:
But the tone has changed: Rational and clear, without resorting to embellishment. Biden avoided referring to his counterpart as an “old friend,” as he used to like to do. Instead, Biden told Xi: “I value our conversation because I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication.”
Biden emphasized that China and the United States were competing with each other. “But my responsibility is to make this rational and manageable so it doesn’t result in conflict. That’s what I’m all about.”
Xi Jinping put it similarly: “For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,” adding that conflicts and confrontations would have “unbearable consequences for both sides.”
Both Xi and Biden are under domestic political pressure: Biden has a tough election campaign ahead of him, where Republicans will blame him for all the problems. If Beijing were to actually take stricter action against the export of fentanyl precursor chemicals, this would be a significant political victory for Biden.
Although Xi Jinping does not have to face an election campaign, the General Secretary of the Communist Party is also under stress. He is experiencing a rare moment of apparent weakness: China’s economic development has slowed dramatically after decades of rapid growth. The post-Covid recovery has yet to materialize.
Therefore, a late-night dinner with powerful CEOs from American companies was very important for Xi. The National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council had invited Xi to the banquet: Entry cost a mere 2,000 US dollars, and for a whopping 40,000 US dollars, you could get a seat at Xi’s table – and the huge hall was packed. Xi pleaded for more American investment in China, which is starting to decline. China’s president said things like: “China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States” – and received loud applause.
But it is equally clear that a soft tone alone does not make a good song. And here, it is important to remain realistic. Nobody should be fooled – it is not mutual sympathy that brings Xi and Biden closer together.
The leaders of the two most powerful countries in the world had not met for a year. Twelve months ago, it took the G20 summit in Bali to bring Xi and Biden together. This time, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco had to set the stage. Neither the Biden administration nor Xi Jinping’s circle had the strength to organize an independent meeting. That should give food for thought.
The meeting in Woodside also demonstrated that the fundamental differences between China and the US persist, be it in economic competition or global security matters, with all their severity – and with all the looming dangers.
Joe Biden’s biggest domestic political win at the summit with Xi Jinping was the concession by the Chinese President to step up the fight against illegal fentanyl exports. Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic and anesthetic. The opioid crisis in the USA continues to cause considerable suffering, which makes it an important election issue for Biden.
The importance of the agreement for Biden was shown on Thursday by his government’s prompt reaction. It removed China’s Institute of Forensic Science from a sanctions list. It was blacklisted due to its alleged inaction in the fight against fentanyl. The Institute is an agency under the Ministry of Public Security. Biden thus honors that Xi is serious about his concession.
Although there are other supplier countries, most of the substance comes from China, according to the US. In fact, it comes from regular pharmaceutical companies in China that supply the global market with precursors for medicines. Legal US suppliers also obtain the basic substances for their painkillers from China and India.
Fentanyl is an artificial anesthetic that is up to 100 times stronger than natural opium. Because such substances are derived from opium, they are called opioids. Fentanyl has been around since the 1960s and was originally administered in hospitals, hospices or under medical supervision as a treatment for extreme pain.
In the 2000s, pharmaceutical lobbying opened up a market for use on large groups of patients without direct supervision and at home. Many Americans became addicted. When fentanyl was reclassified as a dangerous narcotic, people who had become severely addicted obtained it from the black market. Smuggled fentanyl from China replaced legally marketed drugs.
One association regularly comes to mind: Fentanyl smuggling bears similarities to the forced supply of opium from Great Britain to China in the 19th century. This had a devastating effect on China’s economy and society.
The British defeated China with superior weaponry in two wars between 1839 and 1860 and forced the emperor to legalize the drug and open up the market for it. The reason was the British traders’ desire for profit. A juicy detail: The grandfather of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt may have profited from the sale of opium in China.
In 2022, the Chinese ambassador to the USA at the time, Qin Gang, even referred to the connection between the Opium Wars and fentanyl smuggling, but turned the argument around, saying China took the fight against fentanyl very seriously because it was once a victim of drug exports itself. (Qin was appointed foreign minister last December, but has since been ousted and disappeared).
Nevertheless, the impression is that China has not yet taken strong action against the export of the substance. This is why the issue was also part of Wednesday’s negotiations between Biden and Xi. The US believes that China has so far mainly paid lip service to the issue. After all, a police state should be able to control the export of its pharmaceuticals.
The US Department of Justice has gathered indictments against eight Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. “We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, according to a press release. The importers often falsely declared the shipments as harmless goods. Mexican cartels often act as middlemen. Payment is made in cryptocurrencies.
The prosecutors also name some companies, including
So far, the US authorities have only been able to take action after the shipments have arrived. The US side now hopes that the Chinese police will help with investigations on their side and that customs will take a closer look at exports.
German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger recently expressed her concerns about collaboration with Chinese researchers. “The Communist Party could be hiding behind every Chinese researcher, we have to be clear about that,” she said.
It is normal in modern societies for political statements to be viewed in isolation by the public. That is why I wish to fill in the gaps that emerge in the interpretation. I believe I am in a good position to judge this because I have experienced first-hand the means by which the Communist Party enforces its power-political interests. As a former human rights lawyer in China, I was detained and tortured by security forces for months before I was able to leave for the USA and apply for political asylum there.
Well, Ms. Stark-Watzinger’s words are not particularly wisely chosen. The statement is too generalized. It lacks nuance, which is why the minister should not be surprised that some accuse her of discrimination or even racism.
However, if I carefully analyze this statement, I come to the conclusion that the concern expressed by Stark-Watzinger is certainly legitimate. Of course, not all researchers from China are spies working for the party. But German researchers and political decision-makers should be absolutely aware of the situation in which researchers from China come to their country.
Fact is: Scientists from my home country are on the party’s leash – just like any entrepreneur, civil servant, sportsperson or anyone else. In practice, this does not mean that scientists have to provide information about every step they take in Germany. Many may never attract the slightest interest from the party. But if a Chinese researcher – for whatever reason – does spark the interest of a state or party organ, then the individual in question has no choice but to cooperate if they value their career, their future, or, at worst, their freedom or health.
For Germany, this situation naturally results in an obligation to be aware of possible risks when it comes to its own national security or the defense of democratic values. Military, high-tech or economically relevant research results that would benefit Germany and Europe in their systemic competition with China should not fall into the hands of the Chinese government.
That is why a spirit of welcoming Chinese scientists should prevail in Germany, combined with the necessary discretion: more caution and closer scrutiny, but without stereotyping. Anything else would be naive.
To avoid putting Chinese researchers on the spot, they should be welcomed in Germany, but never pressured to attend public events. Academic exchange should not be severed, but raising awareness of the fact that the CCP has attempted and is quite capable of instrumentalizing Chinese researchers to achieve its political goals is vital.
Teng Biao is a human rights activist living in the United States. Before he fled China, he was a lawyer and taught law at Peking University.
We know Lotus mainly as a decorative plant – or British sports car brand. However, the aquatic plant is primarily known as a vegetable in the Far East. The cucumber-like fruit can be cut into medium-wide strips. With the holes arranged like an ornament, the dish, often served with a creamy sauce, looks quite presentable. Lotus is also prized in China because the surface of the leaves, flowers and fruit is particularly liquid-repellent, so that water simply runs off, taking all dirt particles with it. As a result, the plant always remains clean and no fungi or other organisms can spread on it. This self-cleaning process is called the lotus effect.
