Evidently, Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping did not discuss the explosive South China Sea territorial disputes. With China aggressively pursuing her claim over 80% of the South China Sea and forcibly occupying the Scarborough Shoal, tension runs high among the six claimant-nations particularly Vietnam and the Philippines.
Is Obama sending a silent signal to China that the U.S. would turn a blind eye to Chinese military incursion in the disputed waters? It would seem that Obama just gave Xi a carte blanche to do whatever he wants to do in the disputed waters.
It’s interesting to note what Xi told the media as he and Obama were taking a walk on the first day of their summit. Xi told the media that he and Obama were meeting “to chart the future of China-US relations and draw a blueprint for this relationship.” Then he added: “The vast Pacific Ocean has enough space for two large countries like the United States and China.”
That explains China’s assertion that the South China Sea is part of her continental shelf and therefore it’s her territory. Is the “blueprint” that Xi was talking about involves the partitioning the Pacific Ocean between China and the U.S.? — PERRY DIAZ
Obama, Xi wrap up summit, vow joint climate effort
Source: The News
RANCHO MIRAGE, California: President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping wrapped up their first US-China summit Saturday after securing new levels of understanding on North Korea, climate and cyber issues.
Obama and Xi spent a total of eight hours together over two days, encompassing talks, a private dinner, and a stroll through the lush vegetation of a California desert oasis, seeking to forge a personal connection.
US officials said the unusually informal talks at the Sunnylands retreat, had allowed Xi and Obama a rare chance to swap insights about where they hoped to lead their own nations, and the world in years to come.
US National Security Advisor said Obama and Xi had closely consulted on North Korea’s recent nuclear brinkmanship, and agreed that they would work together on the “denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula.
The two men achieved “quite a bit of alignment” on the issue, Donilon said, and praised recent steps taken by Beijing to expresses disapproval of the nuclear and missile tests and bellicose rhetoric of its nominal ally.
Obama meanwhile made clear that a rash of suspected Chinese cyber attacks on US commercial property and military technology would be an “inhibitor” to relations, and would be a “very difficult” problem to solve.
Donilon said that Xi “acknowledged” how important the issue was to Washington, and left California in no doubt where Obama stood.
The leaders also offered directions to working group officials from both sides who are due to sit down to discuss cyber issues in July.
On Friday, Obama called for common “rules of the road” on cybersecurity. “It’s critical, as two of the largest economies and military powers of the world, that China and the United States arrive at a firm understanding,” Obama said.
Xi said he wanted “good-faith cooperation” to clear up “misgivings” by the United States about cybersecurity, telling reporters that China was also “a victim of cyberattacks.”
In a more tangible outcome from the talks at the Sunnylands retreat, the White House said Obama and Xi had agreed on a joint effort to combat climate change, specifically the production of hydroflourocarbons or “super greenhouse gases.”
“A global phase down of HFCs could potentially reduce some 90 gigatons of CO2 equivalent by 2050, equal to roughly two years’ worth of current global greenhouse gas emissions,” a White House statement said.
The gases are used in air conditioners and refrigerators. China — by far the largest producer of HFCs — had until recently resisted efforts by the United States and other wealthy nations to scale back emissions of the gases, arguing that alternatives in appliances were not fully ready.
But it agreed in April to end HFC production by 2030 as part of a $385 million assistance package by wealthy countries under the Montreal Protocol, which was set up to fight the depletion of the ozone layer.
Xi is expected to lead China during a decade in which it will overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy.
Hovering over the summit at a resort once frequented by Frank Sinatra and Richard Nixon was a vexing question for both countries — whether China’s rise in Asia and in the world means an inevitable clash with the United States.
In their first meeting since Xi assumed power from ex-president Hu Jintao in March, Obama expressed the hope for a “new model of cooperation between countries based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
“It is in the United States’ interests that China continues on the path of success because we believe that a peaceful and stable and prosperous China is not only good for the Chinese, but also good for the world and the United States.”
Xi invited Obama to pay a return informal visit to China. Donilon said the two sides would work together to set a date, and also to work out a schedule for an exchange of state visits.
Mirroring his host’s theme of a new approach, Xi said on Friday that “the vast Pacific Ocean has enough space for two large countries like the United States and China.”
Xi also reiterated his frequent, if occasionally vague call for world powers to think differently about relations.
“We need to think creatively and act energetically, so that, working together, we can build a new model of major country relationship,” Xi said.
The two leaders had not been expected to meet until the G20 summit in Russia in September. But both sides, sensing uncertainty seeping into a complicated and often difficult relationship, saw value in an earlier encounter.
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