Diplomacy in Action: The Xi-Biden Meeting Between Regional and Global Summits

Featuring:

• The Hon. Dr. Kevin Rudd AC, President and CEO of the Asia Society; President, Asia Society Policy Institute
• Wendy Cutler, Vice President and Managing Director, Washington, D.C. Office, Asia Society Policy Institute
• Danny Russel, Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy, Asia Society Policy Institute
• Takako Hikotani, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute
• Rorry Daniels, Managing Director, Asia Society Policy Institute; Senior Fellow, Center for China Analysis (moderator)

On Monday, Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping had their first face-to-face meeting since 2017 on the sidelines of the G20, within a busy week for global diplomacy that also includes COP27, the ASEAN summit, the East Asia Summit, and APEC. This meeting comes amid increasing U.S.-China tensions and just after key political moments in both countries, with Xi’s preferences dominating China’s 20thParty Congress, and Biden’s Democratic party faring better than expected in the U.S. mid-terms. What are the topline takeaways for the future of U.S.-China relations? And how will the meeting’s results affect the agendas and outcomes of the regional summits to come? Please join the Asia Society Policy Institute as our top experts break down their own reactions to the Xi-Biden summit, and discuss what the results mean not only for the bilateral relationship but also for the region and the world.

SPEAKERS

The Hon. Kevin Rudd AC is President and CEO of the Asia Society and inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as 26th Prime Minister of Australia (2007 to 2010, 2013) and as Foreign Minister (2010 to 2012). He is Chair of the Board of the International Peace Institute in New York, and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All – a global partnership of government and non-governmental organizations dedicated to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House and the Paulson Institute, and a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Group of Eminent Persons.

Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. In these roles, she focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world. 

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat-in-Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs, where he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region. Among many roles at the Department of State, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe.

Takako Hikotani is a Senior Fellow of the Asia Society Policy Institute and Professor at Gakushuin University International Centre. From 2016 to 2021, she was the Gerald L. Curtis Associate Professor of Modern Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Columbia University, and continues her affiliation with Columbia as Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. She previously taught at the National Defense Academy of Japan, where she was Associate Professor, and lectured at the Ground and Air Self Defense Force Staff Colleges, and the National Institute for Defense Studies. Her research focuses on civil-military relations, Japanese domestic politics and Japanese foreign policy. Her recent publications (in English) include, The Japanese Diet and defense policy-making and Trump's Gift to Japan: Time for Tokyo to Invest in the Liberal Order. She received her BA from Keio University, MAs from Keio University and Stanford University, and PhD in Political Science from Columbia University, where she was a President's Fellow.

Rorry Daniels (moderator) is the Managing Director of Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), where she leads and oversees strategy and operations for ASPI's projects on security, climate change and trade throughout Asia. She was previously with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy where she managed the organization's Track II and research portfolio on Asia security issues, with a particular focus on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, U.S.-China relations, and the North Korean nuclear program. Her most recent research project audited the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue to evaluate its process and outcomes.