China | Chaguan

Talks between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden do not herald a thaw

The two presidents spoke about managing dangerous tensions, but an ice age looms

BEIJING BASKED in golden sunshine on November 16th as President Xi Jinping spent more than three hours on a video call with his American counterpart, Joe Biden. After months of tensions, the virtual meeting was supposed to show that their countries could manage disputes and avoid a spiral of confrontation.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A Sino-American ice age”

The triumph of big government

From the November 20th 2021 edition

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