THE first in-person talks between the leaders of the US and China since the pandemic began stretched into a three-hour session on Monday (Nov 14), with both Joe Biden and Xi Jinping calling for reduced tensions between the world’s largest economies. 

The White House said in a statement that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to China, in a sign of a thaw in relations. The countries will also resume talks between senior officials on issues including climate change, economic stability and debt relief, and health and food security. 

Biden and Xi also agreed that “a nuclear war should never be fought” and that they oppose “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine”. This is significant, given that Xi and the Chinese government have been reticent about publicly criticising Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 

The two men met shortly after 5.30 pm local time on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia. Biden headed back to his hotel at just before 9 pm, where he later planned to hold a news conference.

“Good to see you,” he had said to Xi before they joined US and Chinese officials. The two sides sat at long conference tables with a display of flowers between them.

“We share responsibility in my view to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near a conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation,” Biden said at the start of the meeting.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

“The world expects, I believe, China and the United States to play key roles in addressing global challenges, from climate changes to food insecurity, and for us to be able to work together,” he added. “The United States stands ready to do just that, work with you – if that’s what you desire.”

The Chinese leader, speaking through a translator, said: “Currently, the China-US relationship is in such a situation that we all care a lot about it, because this is not the fundamental interest of our two countries and peoples, and it’s not what the international community expects of us.” He said the two sides “need to find the right direction” and “elevate the relationship”.

“A statesman should think about and know where to lead his country. He should also think about and know how to get along with other countries and the wider world,” he told Biden. “Humanity is confronted with unprecedented challenges. The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship.”

The White House statement also noted points of disagreement, saying that Biden “raised concerns about PRC practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and human rights more broadly”.

Taiwan has become the biggest flashpoint between the countries. China broke off many routine contacts with the US earlier this year after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a visit to the self-governing island.

Biden has repeatedly promised the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

Biden told Xi that the US remains committed to its “One China” policy, in which Taiwan is not recognised as an independent country. But he “raised US objections to the PRC’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardise global prosperity”.

China’s state media reported that Xi had warned his US counterpart not to cross Beijing’s “red line” over Taiwan. Xinhua said that the Chinese leader was reported to have said: “The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.”

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry who was in the meeting, said Xi urged both sides to work together to avoid a collision. The success of both nations should be celebrated, she said, adding that China is committed to peaceful development.

“The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together,” she said on Twitter. She added: “China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game in which one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other.”

Before meeting Xi, Biden talked with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia on Sunday, which White House officials described as prelude for the much-anticipated gathering with the Chinese leader. The president explained his approach and asked the US allies about their concerns. 

Biden separately used a summit in Cambodia with the 10-member Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to firm up relationships in a region where China is by far the top trading partner. 

While US officials declined to spell out any specific outcomes they expect from the Xi meeting, they said he would seek to set guardrails around a relationship that has deteriorated since Biden took office – bringing the two countries close to economic or even military conflict. 

The two men met at the Chinese delegation’s hotel, and the Chinese side required extensive precautions against Covid-19, including PCR tests for the virus and N-95 masks for US journalists accompanying Biden. Xi has left his country only twice since the pandemic began.

Senior Biden administration officials said Monday that relations have warmed somewhat simply by planning for the meeting with their Chinese counterparts, a process that took about a month.

On top of the sensitivities over Taiwan, the US and China have also been divided over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US efforts to deny Beijing access to advanced semiconductors that are key to dominating technologies that will drive growth in the 21st century.

Biden seeks to build a floor under the relationship and increase communication responsibly and practically, US officials said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the meeting, which they framed as the first serious, in-person US-China diplomacy in years.

Any move to calm tensions would be welcomed in Asia, where many governments saw Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as an unnecessary provocation. US allies and partners including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have also failed to fully endorse Biden’s efforts to deny China advanced chip technology – a move Beijing has said was intended to maintain American “hegemony”. BLOOMBERG, AFP