Looking forward to Donald Trump’s presidency, Chinese President Xi told President Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, that Sino-American relations “will make significant progress” if they “seek common ground.” shelf differences.”

There was no need to mention Mr. Trump’s call for a 60 percent tariff on imports from China, as Mr. Xi warned that the two countries would “deteriorate or even degrade the relationship,” according to Chinese state news agency “If they try to cause harm.”

Judging by Xinhua’s English-language account of the meeting, Mr. Xi was not particularly interested in what Americans might say about North Korean troops in Ukraine or about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s growing threats to his enemies, especially South Korea.

Mark Magnier of the South China Morning Post, reporting from Lima, quoted Mr Xi assuring Mr Biden: “China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences to strive for stable stability . “The transformation of China-US relations for the benefit of the two peoples.”

Mr. Biden was equally diplomatic, telling Mr. Xi that “our discussions have always been cordial and frank” to “prevent miscalculations” and “ensure that the rivalry between the two countries does not escalate into conflict.”

As reported by Xinhua, Mr. Xi made not-so-subtle aspersions about America’s policy toward China. He was quoted as saying, “Big country competition should not be the basic logic of the age.” “Small garden, high fences are not what big countries should follow.”

But continuing China’s expansionism in the Pacific, Mr. Xi joined Peruvian President Dina Boluarte at the opening of a major new Chinese port in the town of Chancay, 45 miles up the coast from Lima. The port “will enable Peru to build a multidimensional, diverse and effective network…,” Mr. Xi was quoted as saying in China’s Global Times newspaper. From Peru to Latin America and then to the Caribbean.”

Echoing much the same issues covered at the summit in Woodside, Calif., a year ago, Mr. Biden “expressed concerns” about China’s “unfair trade policies,” according to the White House, but avoided mention of retaliations. His comments had a formal tone, as he “condemned the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops” to Russia for the war in Ukraine and called for “peace and stability” between China and Taiwan, which China is harassing by air and sea.

Mr. Biden appeared more passionate about preserving the almost mystical “Camp David spirit” than disputes with China. At a trilateral meeting in Lima on Friday, Mr. Biden, South Korean President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba looked forward to the presidency of a man who threatened to withdraw troops and bases from Korea and Japan if they did not do so in his first term. pay enough to have them there.

In a final diplomatic move, the Biden administration is reassuring the South Koreans and Japanese about the continuity of cooperation promised at Camp David in August 2023, when Mr. Biden hosted Mr. Yoon and Japan’s then-prime minister, Fumio Kishida.

As if to prove the “Camp David spirit” to Trump, Biden, Yoon and Ishiba decided to create a secretariat “responsible for coordinating and implementing our shared commitments.” In a joint statement, they said the secretariat “will ensure that our work together further aligns our goals and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a thriving, connected, resilient, stable and secure region.”

South Korean officials are making the most of fears that President Trump might have ideas of his own.

“What would happen if South Korea faced another security crisis?” Park Jin, Mr. Yoon’s former foreign minister, asked in response to my question at a meeting at George Washington University. he asked. “The USA will come to help us,” he said. “The most effective option is to maintain US bases on the Korean peninsula” – a reference to Mr Trump’s hints of closing the bases.

What if North Korea fires a nuclear warhead on the South? “The nuclear umbrella will be activated and maintained,” Mr. Park told the Sun, calling for “strong, expanded deterrence.”

But beyond the rhetoric and promises, the Americans and their Northeast Asian allies have done little to bolster their defenses, let alone retaliate, as tensions reach their highest level in decades. In addition to sending nearly 12,000 troops to Russia, Mr. Kim declared South Korea an “enemy” and tested missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to targets from Korea to Japan to North America.

Finally, he called for the mass production of “suicide attack drones” that could be produced with Russian technology. Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency reported that he oversaw drone tests “to precisely attack enemy targets on land and at sea.”