Why Xi and Biden talk past each other

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden are two leaders on clashing timelines.As the presidents of China and the U.S. hold their first summit next week sin [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Xi Jinping and Joe Biden are two leaders on clashing timelines. As the presidents of China and the U.S. hold their first summit next week since Biden took office, that discrepancy is only becoming more acute. Xi goes into the virtual meeting having penned a “historical resolution” just endorsed by the Communist Party. That puts him into the rarefied air of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, and sends the message that Xi is not just a leader — he’s an era. He won’t want to take actions that might respond to immediate pressure from the U.S. and harm his long-term interests. Even with a potentially indefinite mandate he needs to avoid dissent and keep his citizens progressing economically. Biden has midterm elections soon, and once those are over he needs to think about his own re-election. That lends itself to a focus on the short term, showing Americans he’s standing up for their jobs. He needs to produce results, especially on trade. The leaders are on separate tracks too in Asia. Key Reading - [China’s New ‘Starting Point’ Shows Xi Jinping Is Here to Stay]( - [China Under Xi Is Tough Target for CIA Spies, Hurting Biden’s Beijing Policy]( - [China Elite Hand Xi Big Win, Paving Way for Indefinite Rule]( - [China’s Nuclear Arsenal Is Growing Faster Than Expected, Pentagon Says]( - [Biden-Xi Virtual Summit Set for Next Week, With Date to Come]( Xi knows only too well the “century of humiliation” that China suffered from the 1830s, forced to open up trade to the British and cede control of Hong Kong. China retreated inward, neglecting its navy and air force. America eventually became the big power in Asia, with military bases in Japan and South Korea. Xi is moving to rectify that. He’s rapidly modernized the military, asserted claims to maritime territory, brought Hong Kong to heel and stepped up pressure on Taiwan. All of that is about pushing the U.S. and others away from China's periphery for a “century of rejuvenation.” It’s something America bristles at and Biden protests about. So there will be a common desire when they meet not to let the relationship worsen. But beyond that, they’re talking past each other. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( A picture of Xi at the Museum of the Communist Party yesterday in Beijing. Photographer: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and share this newsletter with others too. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines COP26 endgame | As the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow enters its final hours, questions remain over what constitutes success. Finance for climate-vulnerable nations, phasing out coal and revisiting country action plans are among key issues yet to be resolved. And then, as [Ellen Milligan]( writes, getting countries to stick to whatever is agreed could be legally [tricky](. - Talks on creating a global carbon market, already deadlocked for six years, ran into new [obstacles]( overnight. Military alert | The U.S. is telling European allies that Moscow may be weighing a potential invasion of Ukraine as tensions flare between Russia and the bloc over migrants and energy supplies, sources say. [Alberto Nardelli](, [Jennifer Jacobs]( and [Nick Wadhams]( explain in this [story]( what’s behind the growing alarm in Washington. The most [severe]( cloud of methane detected in Australia in more than a year was spotted last month by satellite over one of the country’s top coal-producing regions. The nation is facing growing global criticism from climate activists who say it isn’t doing enough to cut emissions. Filling the vacuum | On the night before his 74th birthday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi spent almost four hours with French President Emmanuel Macron on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Read an inside [report]( by [Chiara Albanese](, [Ania Nussbaum]( and [Samy Adghirni]( on how the men have formed a close bond, and with it the chance to fill the gap in European leadership that Angela Merkel will leave as she steps down as German chancellor. - Italian President Sergio Mattarella tried to quash speculation he could stay on for a second term, leaving Draghi as the top contender for the role early next year and potentially [destabilizing]( Draghi’s governing coalition. Macron, center, with Draghi, right, before dinner in Marseille, on Sept. 2. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [The World Needs to Talk About a Covax for Climate: Mihir Sharma]( - [China’s Dangerous Rush to Resolve Property Crisis: Shuli Ren]( - [The U.S. Can Help End Ethiopia’s Civil War: James Stavridis]( Losing friends | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s intervention to help a friend and ally found guilty by a parliamentary committee of paid lobbying has [cost]( him serious capital within his party and resulted in days of unsavory headlines. The premier is safe for now but the episode has dented his authority and left him with less credit to fall back on if he slips up again. Midterm backlash | Argentina’s ruling coalition may lose power in congress to a reinvigorated opposition in midterm elections on Sunday at a time of growing economic troubles. [Patrick Gillespie]( lays out why the vote will be a [crucial]( test for the government’s fragile unity. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. News to Note - China is India’s biggest security [threat]( and the additional troops and weaponry that New Delhi rushed in to secure their disputed border last year won’t be returning to base for a while, the country’s defense chief said. - A Myanmar court today found American journalist Danny Fenster [guilty]( of inciting dissent against the military and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. - Iran wants the U.S. to [guarantee]( that it won’t again quit the 2015 nuclear deal as the two countries prepare to resume indirect negotiations over reviving the embattled accord. - The U.S. joined China and Russia to [ask]( the Taliban to cut ties with terrorist groups and stop them operating in Afghanistan after a spate of attacks linked mostly to the Islamic State. - Sudan’s army chief announced a new sovereign [council](, digging in more than two weeks after staging a coup. - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter Sara has [joined]( former president Gloria Arroyo’s party in what could be a prelude to a run for the top post. Pop quiz, readers (no cheating!). Which country was accused of staging a “hybrid attack” against the European Union by escorting thousands of migrants to the bloc’s eastern border? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... A fleet of drones [hummed]( over dense forests and cocoa farms en route to Ghana’s central Bosomtwe District before parachuting thermal packages containing cargo that’s long been awaited: vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. As [Riley Griffin]( writes, the red-and-white aircraft will shuttle tens of thousands of the shots to some of the West African nation’s most rugged, remote countryside as part of a drive to raise immunity against the virus around the world. A Zipline vaccine drop outside a health facility in Ghana. Source: Zipline Inc. Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022