Golden rice and an awkward walk can’t paper over cracks between world’s most powerful men

After four long hours of talks between the world’s two most powerful leaders at a secluded California country estate, a tentative détente was sealed with an awkward stroll for the television crews among the tall hedges of the English Renaissance-style gardens.

The manicured lawns of the 654-acre secluded Filoli mansion featured in Jennifer Lopez’s 2001 romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner, but there was little love on show between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

They walked in uncomfortable silence, barely mustering a small wave and thumbs-up for the cameras.

Yet, at the very least, they met.

Months-long radio silence and heightened tensions between the world’s two biggest superpowers has caused unease at a time of great global uncertainty, with two ongoing hot wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

A generous lunch of herbed ricotta ravioli, artichoke crisps, tarragon-roasted chicken and Carolina gold rice pilaf did little to paper over the cracks between two veteran statesmen who are deeply sceptical of each other, but both have a shared interest in dialling down tensions to avoid hurtling into a future military conflict.

Mr Biden emerged from the meeting hailing “some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had”, revealing fresh counter-narcotics cooperation and a resumption of military-to-military communications.

Most important of all, he had hit the reset button on US-China relations.

The reopening of a direct military hotline, in particular, could prove vital in avoiding a third geopolitical crisis in the Indo-Pacific where the US and China are at odds over potential flashpoints in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

At a time when Chinese coastguard ships are daily playing cat and mouse with Philippine vessels in disputed maritime territories, a call between military leaders could mean the difference between peace or rapid escalation.

The “straightforward” conversation between Mr Xi and Mr Biden found little common ground on their entrenched positions on the most contentious issues, including Iran and the future of Taiwan – a democratic island the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own even though it has never ruled there.

Mr Xi warned the US to stop arming Taiwan and refused to rule out force to seize control there. Mr Biden stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and Washington’s insistence on maintaining the “status quo”.

He raised thorny human rights issues in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, and confronted China over its coercive foreign policy. Chinese state media said Mr Xi called on the United States to “not scheme to suppress or contain China”.

In a time of intense competition, keeping the US-China relationship, in Mr Biden’s words “rational and manageable”, is the most realistic outcome the world could expect for now.

“I know the man, I know his modus operandi, looked into his eyes,” said the US President, who has cultivated a deep relationship with Mr Xi throughout their long political careers, but who, when pressed if he trusted his counterpart, responded: “Trust but verify, as the old saying goes. That’s where I am.”

The agreement between the two leaders to in future “pick up the phone” and “call directly” during times of dispute is, however, a stabilising factor as Taiwan and the United States head towards pivotal elections next year.

Mr Biden’s off-the-cuff quip about the Chinese president’s “dictator” status may steal headlines from an otherwise constructive summit but is unlikely to unravel the incremental progress achieved. Both sides need a pause in their intense rivalry.

But it remains uncertain whether the reprieve from tensions can stand the test of time or whether relations could once again be knocked off kilter by a potentially tumultuous US election campaign or another major external event.

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