US President Joe Biden will meet for the final time this week as he prepares to hand over the US government – and control of the world’s most important bilateral relationship – to President-elect Donald Trump.
The meeting, scheduled for Saturday during the APEC leaders’ summit in Peru, serves as a capstone to the president’s risky attempts to position the US against an increasingly assertive Beijing. It will be the third meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office.
Unlike previous meetings, the talks in Lima will not result in a long list of conclusions or results. Instead, senior US officials described the meeting as a moment of reflection between two men – whose relationship began more than a decade ago.
However, this final meeting will be marked, above all, by the results of the last American presidential election.
and has already placed a series of impositions on the country before his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
As he builds the next administration, Trump has selected advisers who advocate a tough approach toward China, including Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser and Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
Trump also promised to impose firm tariffs on Chinese imports “as a way to protect American industry.”
