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It has been a year since President Xi and President Biden last met, and it’s hard to overstate just what a rollercoaster US-China relations have been on since then.

The fact this meeting is happening at all is the result of months of delicate planning.

But for all the “tough-line”, “hard-man” images that both men try to broadcast domestically, there is a mutual recognition of one key fact: it would cost more, both politically and economically, to allow relations to spiral.

Why now?

It was just nine months ago that US-China relations hit what felt like rock bottom as the so-called Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the US, plunging their diplomacy into crisis.

The vast backdrop of disagreements from Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine war, tech controls and economic sanctions meant the relationship felt as precarious and as dangerous as it had in decades.

But the summer has seen a blitz of diplomatic efforts to try to repair things, with multiple meetings of officials at various levels.

Both sides know the window for progress is narrow.

Come next year, Taiwan’s presidential election will likely inflame tensions, and then the inevitable anti-China sentiment that will accompany the US election cycle will no doubt make things worse.

The time to play statesmen and to push for their interests is now!

What do they want?

Don’t be under any illusion, both Biden and Xi are coming to this table with immense amounts of scepticism about the other’s intentions.

Any meaningful breakthrough is highly unlikely.

What they both seek is a degree of what’s being called “tactical stabilisation” – a pause in deterioration that will allow each to pursue its interests in a more predictable environment.

On the US side, there is an understanding that only a meeting of the top men will unlock the Chinese system to enable cooperation on some of the “easier” issues like climate change and global health.

There is also a hope that military-to-military talks might be able to restart after being shut down following former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan last year.

From China’s perspective, a pause in deterioration gives it the space to continue to build up its economic and military strength to better compete going forward.

The visuals are also important to Xi Jinping domestically.

It has not been a brilliant year for him, with a chaotic end to his hated zero COVID policy, a faltering economy and deteriorating relations with multiple western countries. Being seen to be able to manage this crucial relationship is important to casting himself as a competent statesman.

So what will they discuss?

There are so many disagreements likely to be raised, but these are the top three on the list:

Territorial claims and military tension

Perhaps top of the long list of issues between them is China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in contested areas that it claims as its own.

Most prominent is Taiwan, the self-governing island that China sees as a breakaway province. Xi has expressed multiple times his desire to “reunify” Taiwan, Biden has promised to defend it.

The other arena where tensions are rising is the South China Sea.

China claims the vast majority as its international waters, despite rival claims from the Philippines and others. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled overwhelmingly in favour of the Philippines.

However, in recent months there have been frequent confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels, and here too the US has reiterated its commitment to support the Philippines.

The US claims that in both areas China’s behaviour is becoming increasingly aggressive and, in some cases dangerous. It has released videos of Chinese jets flying hair-raisingly close to US ones, in one recent case, just 10ft away.

The Americans say the risk of accidents and escalation is grave.

China, for its part, says that it is US conduct that is the dangerous force. It sees American presence in these regions as blatant provocation in its backyard.

These are deeply intractable issues, the best that might be hoped for is some sort of agreement to an offramp for if things ever escalate.

Global conflicts

The two leaders will also discuss the two major ongoing global conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In both, they have taken a drastically different tact.

When it comes to Ukraine, China has attempted to portray itself as a neutral peacemaker, one of the only nations with the ability to talk to both sides.

The reality, though, is that Xi has made no secret of his growing closeness to Putin and has quietly been providing Russia with finance, technology and diplomatic cover.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, it has called for a ceasefire and peace, but it has stopped short of directly condemning Hamas for the 7 October atrocities and state media has taken a decidedly pro-Palestinian tone.

In both cases, China’s approach is in stark opposition to America’s, and it has criticised its rival for its full-throated support for both Israel and Ukraine and the supply of military assistance.

At root, both have an interest in the other not gaining advantage or influence off the back of the outcomes of these conflicts.

Tech and economic sanctions

There is still a raft of restrictions on technology and economic sanctions that exist between them.

Just in the last month, new ones have been announced on both sides, with China restricting US access to graphite (a crucial component in making batteries) and the US further restricting Chinese access to semiconductors.

The aim on both sides is to hinder the other’s ability to develop in key areas such as AI. But this trade war hurts them both as they remain major trading partners and the two economies are highly reliant on each other.

Xi in particular has a need to mitigate these issues.

Amidst a flagging economy, he is trying to woo foreign investment back to China and is expected to meet with US business leaders while in San Francisco.

A smooth summit might help him stave off, at least temporarily, more US restrictions and it may help shore up the confidence of some foreign businesses spooked by the imposition of state-centric restrictions and raids on a handful of China-based US businesses.

A major air and land search is under way for a former Sydney radio presenter who went missing on a solo fishing trip in crocodile-infested waters in remote Queensland.

Roman Butchaski has been missing since Sunday and only his vehicle and fishing gear have been found so far.

Mr Butchaski used to co-host a fishing show on the 2GB radio station and is said to have been going to the area for years.

The region is well known as a hotspot for crocodiles, but there’s also the possibility he may be lost or had a medical emergency.

2GB host Ben Fordham told listeners “a major search and rescue operation is now under way” in an area nearly 400 miles north of Cairns, on the Cape York peninsula.

Harry Clarke, a journalist from Country Caller, told the station Mr Butchaski was “last seen at 8am on Sunday heading off towards the Olive River, which is in far north Queensland”.

He said he had borrowed a buggy from a friend and travelled about an hour to the river.

“All they’ve found of Butch is that vehicle with some personal effects such as a fishing rod… and he hasn’t been seen since,” said Mr Clarke.

The region is established crocodile habitat and the area he was travelling to is a tidal saltwater river.

“I’m devastated – Butchy walks the banks up there regularly. He’s been fishing there forever,” said Gavin Pitchford, Mr Butchaski’s co-host on the fishing programme.

He said his friend has diabetes, so there’s a possibility he may have had a medical issue.

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Police said a helicopter and on-foot search teams had been looking for a man in his 60s since Sunday night.

They said extra officers were being drafted in to help.

Crocodiles can be found in both freshwater and saltwater in Queensland, including rivers, swamps, oceans and the offshore islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

In May, a man described how he managed to prise a crocodile’s jaws from around his head when he was attacked near a luxury resort in the state.

Governments’ plans to limit climate change to internationally agreed safer levels will currently not limit global warming enough, according to the United Nations.

Every year, the United Nations assesses countries’ climate action plans – known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) – to see if together they will cut emissions sufficiently to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

To meet that 1.5C target – regarded as crucial to stave off the more dangerous impacts of climate change – emissions of greenhouse gases that heat the climate need to fall by almost half by 2030.

Today’s assessment finds that in 2030, emissions will in fact have increased by 9%, compared with emissions in 2010.

This shows a “marginal improvement” from last year, when emissions were forecast to rise 11% in 2030, but emissions are “still not demonstrating the rapid downward trend science says is necessary this decade,” the United Nations’ climate body, the UNFCCC, said today.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said: “The world is failing to get a grip on the climate crisis.”

The report does not provide breakdowns by individual country.

However, an earlier assessment by the well-regarded Climate Action Tracker group said the UK’s climate policies and action need “substantial improvements to be consistent with the 1.5°C temperature limit”.

“If all countries were to follow the UK’s approach, warming would reach up to 3°C,” it said.

In a damning verdict, UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Steill today said: “Governments combined are taking baby steps to avert the climate crisis.”

He urged them instead to take “bold strides” at next month’s COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai to “get on track”.

The report reminds leaders meeting in the Emirate of the urgent need to tackle climate change, with every year that emissions rise driving up global warming, in turn fuelling more intense heatwaves and floods.

It arrives after a record breakingly hot summer, in a year “near certain” to be the hottest in 100,000 years.

At COP28, the United Nations’ annual climate talks, countries are set to agree a course correction of how to get back on track, in a process known as the “Global Stocktake”.

But a row is brewing over whether or when to phase out fossil fuels – the key driver of climate change – with highly polluting oil-producing countries poised to argue for weaker language.

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Mr Steill said COP28 “must be a clear turning point”.

“Governments must not only agree what stronger climate actions will be taken but also start showing exactly how to deliver them,” he said.

“It’s time to show the massive benefits now of bolder climate action: more jobs, higher wages, economic growth, opportunity and stability, less pollution and better health.”

A woman has been identified 31 years after her body was found in Belgium.

Rita Roberts, from Cardiff, was previously referred to as the “woman with the flower tattoo”.

Ms Roberts’s body was discovered on 3 June 1992 against a grate in the water of the river Groot Schijn in Antwerp.

Police said she had been violently killed. Her family said the news was “shocking and heartbreaking”.

Officers said her most striking feature was a tattoo on her left forearm of a black flower with green leaves and “R’Nick” written underneath.

She was 31 when she moved to Antwerp in February 1992. Her last communication with her family was a postcard in May 1992.

An appeal was launched on 10 May this year to help identify her body.

A family member in the UK recognised the tattoo on the news and informed Interpol and Belgian authorities.

In a tribute, Ms Roberts’s family said she was “passionate, loving and free-spirited” and had been “cruelly taken away”.

“There are no words to truly express the grief we felt at that time, and still feel today,” they added.

They said while the news had been “difficult to process”, they were “incredibly grateful to have uncovered what happened to Rita”.

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Her family described Ms Roberts as “a beautiful person who adored travelling”.

“She loved her family, especially her nephews and nieces, and always wanted to have a family of her own,” they added.

“She had the ability to light up a room, and wherever she went, she was the life and soul of the party. We hope that wherever she is now, she is at peace.”

Belgian authorities are now appealing for any information on Ms Roberts or the circumstances surrounding her death.

Which other countries have banned TikTok?

TikTok has been banned in several countries, with many citing security concerns about the Chinese app.

The UK and US governments have banned the app on government phones, as has the European Parliament, European Commission and EU Council.

TikTok has repeatedly denied it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and said it would not do so if asked.

Other countries to ban it from government devices include Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan.

Nepal’s neighbour India banned TikTok over fears it could compromise national security and integrity.

Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership banned it in 2022 on the grounds of protecting young people from “being misled”.

Pakistan has banned it over what the government terms its “immoral and indecent” content, while Somalia banned it over concerns about terror-related content.