South China Sea: Xi-Biden meeting on G20 margins will not ease tensions, observers say

Expect more restraint, but antagonising behaviour will continue, researcher at Rand Corporation says

Despite warmth of meeting, ‘key points of contention’ such as Taiwan and the South China Sea have not gone away, analyst in Australia points out

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Joe Biden and Xi Jinping ahead of their meeting on the margins of the G20 Summit in Bali on November 14. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00am, 20 Nov 2022

Friendly gestures at the first in-person meeting between the Chinese and US leaders might prompt more restraint over the South China Sea, but tensions would persist, observers said.

Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali on Monday, their first face-to-face talks since Biden took office in January 2021.

The three-hour meeting reportedly featured blunt exchanges on thorny issues such as Taiwan, human rights, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, trade practices and food security.

Before their talks, the two leaders shook hands warmly as they smiled for the cameras in front of their national flags, with Biden putting his hand on Xi’s back at one point.

However, the main points of conflict remain, according to Malcolm Davis, a senior security analyst at the Canberra-based Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“I think the key points of contention in the relationship haven’t gone away, and the South China Sea and the Taiwan issue [make up] one of those key points.”

China has territorial disputes with multiple neighbours over the South China Sea, most of which it claims under what it calls its historical “nine-dash line”.

Davis said China had not given up on its claims in the South China Sea nor walked back from its nine-dash line stance; and still maintained bases on artificially built structures such as the Fiery Cross and Subi reefs on the contested Spratly Islands off the Philippines.

South China Sea: Xi-Biden meeting on G20 margins will not ease tensions, observers say

Expect more restraint, but antagonising behaviour will continue, researcher at Rand Corporation says Despite warmth of meeting, ‘key points of contention’ such as Taiwan and the South China Sea have not gone away, analyst in Australia points out

Expect more restraint, but antagonising behaviour will continue, researcher at Rand Corporation says

Despite warmth of meeting, ‘key points of contention’ such as Taiwan and the South China Sea have not gone away, analyst in Australia points out