US-China: Xi Jinping and Biden meet this week

11/12/23 7:00PM

East meets West

‍On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will include a meeting with Joe Biden — their first in over a year.

Jinping hasn’t stepped foot in the States since talking airstrikes with Trump over a "beautiful piece of chocolate cake" 6 years ago. Following China's economy showing signs of stalling, at the top of this year's agenda is the $760bn in trade between the two countries: a complicated economic relationship that’s been strained by tariffs, trade wars, security breaches, and spy balloons in recent years.

‍Chimerica

‍Correspondingly, US public opinion of China has only worsened in that period. According to a YouGov survey, those considering China an "enemy" of America grew to 80% in Aug 2023, up from ~39% in the same month in 2017, while those considering the country as an "ally" shrunk considerably to just 8.7% as of August.

On the other hand, a separate poll saw a surge in positive attitudes towards the US amongst Chinese citizens: in April 2022, over 80% of Chinese respondents viewed the US as an enemy; by 2023, this figure had fallen to less than 50%. Even so, the two presidents have their work cut out for them if they are to mollify years of mounting distrust on both sides: 75% of Chinese pollees reported still being concerned about US-China tensions.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.