United States President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday during a three-hour meeting, discussing a range of issues, including tensions of a new Cold War and talks about Taiwan and North Korea.
The two world leaders met amid their varying stances regarding human rights, Russia's war on Ukraine, and support for domestic industry. Biden and Xi pledged to have more frequent communications between China and the US with Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveling to Beijing for follow-up discussions.
Biden and Xi Meet
After the discussions, the Democratic leader said that China and the US will compete vigorously but noted that he was not looking for conflict with the Asian nation. Biden added that he wanted to manage the competition responsibly.
Chinese authorities have long said that they wanted to bring the self-governing island nation of Taiwan under their control and have not ruled out the use of aggressive force. For years, Beijing has frequently accused the United States of encouraging Taiwan's independence, as per Reuters.
Xi, after his meeting with Biden, said that Taiwan is the "first red line" that must be addressed in US-China relations. The US president, on the other hand, wanted to assure his Chinese counterpart that his country's policy on the self-governing island nation had not changed.
Biden said that there was no need for a new Cold War, which others worried could be a possibility, and that he did not believe that Beijing was planning a hot one. In an interview, the Democrat said that there was no imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan.
According to Politico, the two world leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Bali, Indonesia. Biden noted that there were very few that could replace a personal meeting with Xi as they were seen shaking hands on Monday against a backdrop of flags.
US-China Relations
Despite the historic face-to-face meeting, Biden and Xi were only able to achieve a few concrete accomplishments. However, the historic discussions between the two world leaders, whose countries have been in a tense relationship for years, are seen as an important step toward de-escalation.
Xi said that the world had already come to a crossroads, noting that we need to go on the right path. The Asian leader said that the world expects his country and the United States to properly handle their relationship.
Despite Biden's stance on Taiwan, he has frequently said that the US would defend the self-governing island if Beijing attacked. In each of the instances, the Biden administration's officials stressed that the US posture of "strategic ambiguity" was maintained.
The US president entered the talks with Xi with hopes of taking stock with the Asian leader of the world's most important bilateral relationship. Furthermore, Biden described the Chinese president as not being overly confrontational but only as he has always been, direct and straightforward. The Democrat said that he and Xi were both clear in what they wanted each other to address, CNN reported.
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