President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to have their first face-to-face meeting in over a year this Wednesday after the APEC summit in San Francisco. It will be a closed door meeting, the time and location have not been disclosed for security reasons - Chinese officials have also urged the US to ensure that there are no protestors anywhere near Xi Jinping’s motorcade or hotel.

Tensions between the two superpowers have escalated over the last year, specifically around technology, US support of Taiwan, and China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war. Tensions are high on a personal level as well, after Biden publicly called Xi Jinping “a dictator” in June.

One of the primary goals of the meeting will be to reestablish communication channels between militaries, which China cut off in August of last year in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Military tensions have escalated in recent months as China has been moving warships and air crafts around the South China Sea, in what the US military is calling a show of force. Just a few weeks ago, a Chinese fighter jet risked collision as it flew within 10 feet of a US bomber at high speed.

Both Chinese and US officials don’t expect any breakthrough or lasting agreements to come from the meeting. It’s expected to be a showcase of cooperation with asks from both sides.

Along with reestablishing military communication and deescalation in the South China Sea, Biden will be looking for assurances from China in cutting off it’s chemical exports to Mexico, which have been fueling the fentanyl crisis in the US.

China will be looking for Biden to commit that the US will not support Taiwan’s formal independence, and more accommodations to recognize and help China grow as a rising global power (by reducing technology sanctions), which isn’t likely.

However, coming out of Chinese media, South China Morning Post reported that Biden and Xi Jinping are expected to set a landmark agreement that pledges “a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in autonomous weaponry, such as drones, and in the control and deployment of nuclear warheads,”. This information has yet to be confirmed by any US-based news outlets.