Biden, Xi meet in Bali, pledge more communications
United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a three-hour-long meeting on Monday in their first in-person meeting since the US president took office nearly two years ago.
Both leaders are in Bali, Indonesia, to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit of large economies.
Amid simmering differences on human rights, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and support of domestic industry, the two leaders pledged more frequent communications.
“We’re going to compete vigorously. But I’m not looking for conflict, I’m looking to manage this competition responsibly,” Biden said after his talks with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
Before their talks, the two leaders smiled and shook hands warmly in front of their national flags.
According to the White House, Biden brought up a number of difficult topics with Xi, including raising U.S. objections to China’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan.
Taiwan
Beijing has frequently accused the United States in recent years of encouraging Taiwan’s independence.
In a statement after their meeting, Xi called Taiwan the “first red line” that must not be crossed in U.S.-China relations, Chinese state media said.
“The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
“Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and China’s internal affairs,” Xi said, according to state media.
Biden said he sought to assure Xi that U.S. policy on Taiwan, which has for decades been to support both Beijing’s ‘One China’ stance and Taiwan’s military, had not changed.
He said there was no need for a new Cold War, and that he did not think China was planning a hot one.
“I do not think there’s any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan,” he told reporters.
Taiwan’s presidential office said it welcomed Biden’s reaffirmation of U.S. policy.
“This also once again fully demonstrates that the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is the common expectation of the international community,” it said.
North Korea
Biden expressed doubt that Beijing could rein in Pyongyang’s weapons programs, and said the United States could do more to protect U.S. allies in the region.
“We would have to take certain actions that would be more defensive on our behalf, and it would not be directed against… China, but it would be to send a clear message to North Korea. We are going to defend our allies, as well as American soil and American capacity,” he said.
Beijing had halted a series of formal dialogue channels with Washington, including on climate change and military-to-military talks, after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi upset China by visiting Taiwan in August.
Biden and Xi agreed to allow senior officials to renew communication on climate, debt relief and other issues, the White House said after they spoke.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing for follow-up talks.
Concrete partnerships
G20 summit host President Joko Widodo of Indonesia said he hoped the gathering on Tuesday could “deliver concrete partnerships that can help the world in its economic recovery”.
U.S.-China relations have been roiled in recent years by growing tensions over issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, trade practices, and U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology.
But U.S. officials said there have been quiet efforts by both Beijing and Washington over the past two months to repair relations.
One of the main topics at the G20 will be Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Xi and Putin have grown close in recent years, bound by their shared distrust of the West, and reaffirmed their partnership just days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
China has been careful not to provide any direct material support that could trigger Western sanctions against it.
Zainab Sa’id
