Takeaways from the Biden-Xi summit, where low expectations were met

It happened, therefore it was a success.

President Joe Biden’s summit with China’s President Xi Jinping south of San Francisco Wednesday may have closed a trap door under the world’s most critical diplomatic relationship, which has plunged to its most acrimonious level in 50 years.

But with expectations set so deliberately low and with each side having significant incentives to declare the meeting productive, it was hardly an achievement that the mood music was upbeat after four hours of talks, punctuated by a lunch of herbed ricotta ravioli, tarragon roasted chicken and almond meringue cake.