Chinese President Xi Jinping Lays Out “Red Lines” in Final Meeting with Biden

Chinese President Xi Jinping presented four “red lines” that the U.S. should not breach during future negotiations between Beijing and Washington in his final meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the November 15-16 APEC Summit in Lima, Peru. However, with the incoming Trump administration naming several China hawks to Cabinet positions, those lines are likely to be severely tested over the next four years.

China Sets Out Four Red Lines for Further Relations with Washington

Following Xi’s meeting with Biden, a Chinese statement specified Beijing’s “four red lines” in its relationship with Washington. China warned that the United States should not attempt to weaken the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control by undermining its hold on power, including advocating for regime change. A second red line requires the U.S. to acknowledge the legitimacy of China’s system of government — an implicit demand to cease any U.S. efforts to promote democracy or other human rights, such as those of ethnic or religious minorities.

The third red line called on Washington to avoid undermining China’s future economic growth via trade sanctions and other tools of economic statecraft. Fourthly, China issued a demand for the United States abandon any effort to promote Taiwanese independence, a point underlined by Xi’s demand that the United States recognize the “true nature” of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, whom the CCP had previously labeled as a “separatist”.

At the same time, the Biden-Xi parley resulted in some limited advances on long-standing issues between the U.S. and China, notably nuclear arms control. As China has continued to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal, Washington has struggled to maintain momentum in arms control negotiations with Beijing. As such, in agreeing to prohibit artificial intelligence (AI) from being used in the deployment of nuclear weapons, Xi provided Biden with long-sought progress on countering nuclear proliferation and placing guardrails on the deployment of military AI.

China Prepares for Heightened Tensions with the United States

Xi’s meeting with Biden comes as China prepares to confront the incoming Trump administration by shoring up its influence amongst U.S. allies and partners. Prior to meeting Biden, Xi inaugurated a new Chinese-owned deepwater port facility north of Lima, a sign of deepening investment ties with Latin America and a possible hedge against further trade disruptions. The port is capable of handling both large oceangoing container vessels and Chinese naval vessels, raising concerns from former SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Laura Richardson that China had entered the “red zone” of the US homeland.

Following his meeting with Biden, Xi flew to the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro during which he met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, reiterating to both leaders China’s desire to lessen tensions and strengthen trade ties.

Trump Administration Should Reject China’s Vision for Future Relations

China’s promulgation of “four red lines” directly contradicting long-standing US policy fits within the CCP’s long-running rhetoric portraying the United States as the aggressor within the relationship. Moreover, in iterating these positions prior to the new administration taking office, China is attempting to pre-emptively set the tone of the relationship by forcing Washington to either violate Beijing’s principles or negotiate from a nearly untenable position.

Rather than allow China to use its statement to set the basis of future US-China relations, the incoming administration should reject China’s red lines as unworkable both in principle and in practice. This rejection should be coupled with a strategy intended to decisively win the two countries’ strategic competition by engineering the emergence of a more liberal, non-threatening China capable of becoming a true partner to the United States.

Jack Burnham is a research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Jack on X @JackBurnham802. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.