Thursday briefing: the Biden-Xi meeting

Biden meets Xi

President Biden and President Xi Jinping of China shook hands yesterday at the entrance to a grand estate in the California hills as they began their first meeting in a year.

“It is a great honor and pleasure to receive you in the United States,” Biden told the Chinese leader.

“Planet Earth is big enough” for both superpowers, Xi said. He told Biden that their countries were very different, but that they must be “fully able to rise above the differences.”

“I firmly believe in the promising future of the bilateral relationship,” he said.

The two nations have entered the worst relationship in four decades, and Biden’s main goal has been simple: find a way to prevent increasingly bitter competition with China from spiraling into conflict.

No joint statement was expected after the meeting. U.S. officials said each administration would provide its own account of the discussions. Here’s the latest.

On the table: A US official said the leaders were expected to reach the broad outlines of an agreement that would require Beijing to regulate components of fentanyl, the drug that has caused the opioid epidemic in the US. They were also expected to announce a forum to discuss how to sustain AI. programs separate from nuclear command and control, and would likely discuss resuming military-to-military communications, which China halted after Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, visited Taiwan last year.

Biden also planned to address the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the upcoming elections in Taiwan.

Climate progress: On the eve of the meeting, the US and China agreed to jointly tackle global warming by boosting wind, solar and other renewable energy with the aim of displacing fossil fuels. The climate agreement could emerge as a bright spot in the talks.

Israeli forces said they had found weapons in Al-Shifa

The Israeli army yesterday tightened its grip on the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital after storming the complex.

Al-Shifa Hospital has come to play a central role in Israel’s efforts to wrest control of Gaza from Hamas. Israel’s conquest was an important step that could determine the pace and scale of the war with Hamas.

Israeli officers said they found guns, ammunition, bulletproof vests and other military equipment in a radiology building. The claims could not be independently verified. Hamas, which has repeatedly denied using the hospital for military operations, issued a statement calling the Israeli claims “a fabricated story that no one would believe.”

Here’s the latest.

Within Al Shifa: Mahmoud, a witness who said he was on the fourth floor of a surgical building, described an atmosphere of confusion, tension and fear. Israeli soldiers interrogated people and conducted searches, with explosions and gunfire still rattling windows and nerves.

Medicine under fire: Our photographer captured in one image what it’s like to try to save a life amid chaos and hardship.

Politics and the swimming pool: The teenagers from the Greater Jerusalem Swimming Club had been careful not to focus on their differences. That changed with the war.

The health risks due to climate change are increasing

A comprehensive new international report shows that heat-related deaths among people over 65 have increased by 85 percent since the 1990s.

People in this age group, along with babies, are particularly vulnerable to dangers such as heat stroke, according to the report published in the medical journal The Lancet. Due to the rise in global temperatures, older people and babies are now exposed to twice as many heat wave days each year as between 1986 and 2005. Read the rest of the findings.

Killer whales have disrupted the travels of boats along the coastlines of the Iberian Peninsula, even sinking a handful of them. As researchers watch, baffled by the behavior, the boat crews do everything they can think of to stay out of the way.

Some even tried to destroy heavy metal. The orcas disabled the boat anyway. (If you’re curious, here is the ‘Metal for Orcas’ playlist.)

IDEAS

Long-term care around the world

Rich countries around the world are struggling to afford care for rapidly aging populations. The middle class and affluent people bear a substantial share of the costs.

In Japan, long-term care insurance is mandatory for citizens aged 40 and over. Half of the financing comes from tax revenues and half from premiums. Older adults contribute 10 to 30 percent of the cost of services, depending on income, and insurance pays the rest.

Singapore recently introduced a system of mandatory long-term care insurance for those born in 1980 or later. The government subsidizes 20 to 30 percent of premiums for those who earn about $2,000 a month or less. Government subsidies for nursing homes and other institutional care can range from 10 percent to 75 percent.

Here’s how five countries pay for long-term care.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Baking: If you’re a fan of a classic lemon tart, you’ll love this this cranberry version.

Watch: Today marks the start of the final season of ‘The Crown’ on Netflix.