Wednesday’s meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will address difficult issues such as the supply of fentanyl from Asia and the lack of military communications, the White House said.
Fox News spoke with NSC Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell this week — Campbell was recently nominated to serve as deputy secretary of state.
“I can tell you that President Biden intends to make it very clear to President Xi to prepare. He’s going to deal with President Biden for the next five years,” Campbell told Fox News Digital.
WH OFFICIALS CONFIRM DATE, LOCATION OF BIDEN’S MEETING IN US WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI

US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“These are difficult diplomatic meetings,” he continued. “President Biden has a lot of experience. They’ve known each other for a long time. This is an important meeting. It will be intense.”
Biden and Xi shook hands Wednesday in San Francisco. One of the main topics of discussion between the two world leaders is the ongoing fentanyl crisis in the United States.
“The president charged us several months ago to try to achieve some sort of progress on one of the most terrible things affecting America, the fentanyl crisis,” Campbell told Fox News Digital. “So we worked for several months with Chinese interlocutors to demand progress in removing support for precursors that are produced by Chinese companies and then shipped largely to Latin America. And then they head to the states -United.”
BIDEN TO MEET WITH XI JINPING FACE-TO-FACE IN SAN FRANCISCO, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell (R) speaks as South Korea’s Deputy Senior National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo looks on during a a press conference at the South Korean presidential office in Seoul, July 18, 2023. ((Photo by KIM HONG-JI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KIM HONG-JI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))
“We will have to see how this is implemented,” Campbell continued. “But so far, we believe that the Chinese are going to take significant steps that will essentially help us bring under control one of the most terrible drug epidemics that the United States has ever faced. There is some discussion about that .If they, in fact, make these arrests and shut down these businesses, then we will lift some sanctions.”
Another major concern to be addressed between Biden and Xi is the trend of increasingly frequent Chinese-on-Chinese incidents. US Army.
“We are seeing a lot of activity, Chinese pilots and ships operating in unsafe ways and endangering forward-deployed U.S. military personnel in the Indo-Pacific,” Campbell said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping discusses the country’s economic and social development during a political rally in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
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Government officials have reported that communications between Chinese and U.S. military commands have become difficult, with Chinese military leaders refusing to engage meaningfully with their American counterparts.
“We are seeking to establish responsible mechanisms that can manage communications in a crisis to avoid escalation and inadvertence. And I think the Chinese will understand that this is in their best interest as well,” Campbell added.