At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, President Biden and his allies announced new arms packages for Ukraine and discussed strategy with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Despite underlying tensions between the major powers, the leaders of the major industrial democracies lined up their approach to China in a way that Beijing clearly saw as potentially threatening. Biden predicted a coming “thaw” in relations with Beijing, as both sides move beyond recent incidents that have fueled what seems like a descent toward confrontation.
The consensus reached in Hiroshima came after what Michael J. Green, a former top Asia adviser to President George W. Bush, called “a string of diplomatic wins for the U.S. and losses for China.” The communiqué pressed China on the usual stress points, while seeking to reassure Beijing that they were not seeking confrontation. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, talks of “building a high fence around a small yard” to describe the protection of key technologies that could bolster China’s rapid military buildup.
China pushed back hard, accusing the G7 of “obstructing international peace” and “vilifying and attacking China.” Now the question is whether, quietly, Mr. Biden can rebuild a relationship with Mr. Xi that seemed to be turning around last fall, after their first face-to-face meeting. Administration officials hope to return to a more regular dialogue with China, perhaps sending Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to China, and eventually rescheduling a trip to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. There is talk of a meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi in the fall.