Biden and Xi reach agreement on fentanyl and military-to-military communication

WOODSIDE, California — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a deal on fentanyl and resuming military-to-military communication.

Xi has agreed to measures that “go directly after specific companies that make precursors for fentanyl,” according to a senior administration official.

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“They’re taking a number of steps that are designed to dramatically curtail those supplies,” the official told reporters Wednesday.

Biden and Xi have also reached an accord regarding military policy-level discussions between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart once that person is named, operational engagement with senior commanders, including the chairman of the joint chiefs, and between ships themselves.

The two leaders also discussed Taiwan, Iran, artificial intelligence, and climate during their multihour meetings on Wednesday. Not enough progress on AI has been made for a formal declaration, only “early stage mechanisms,” per the administration official.

Doug Mills/AP

“President Biden, in the smaller sessions, made clear our concerns about Ukraine, talked about next steps in the Middle East, explained our desire for China to weigh in with Iran to avoid steps [that] would be seen as provocative or escalatory, more generally,” the official said.

“President Xi basically said, ‘Look, I hear all these reports in the United States how we’re planning for, you know, military action in 2027 or 2035,'” the source added. “There seemed a slight amount of exasperation in those comments. And then [he] basically said there are no such plans, [that] no one has talked to me about this.”

Before their bilateral meeting, Biden and Xi appeared to greet each other warmly, though their interactions had serious undertones.

“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 said. “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict. And we also have to manage it responsibly, that competition.”

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Through a translator, Xi referenced U.S. post-pandemic efforts to ensure supply chains are more resilient — or less reliant on China.

“It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other,” he said. “The world at large, planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, and one country’s success is an opportunity for the other.”