Biden and Xi meet virtually as US-China chasm widens

By AAMER MADHANI and COLLEEN LONG

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden opened his virtual gathering with China’s Xi Jinping connected Monday by saying their extremity is to guarantee contention “does not veer into conflict.”

The 2 leaders are gathering by video amid mounting tensions successful the U.S.-China relationship. Biden has criticized Beijing implicit quality rights abuses against Uyghurs successful northwest China, squelching antiauthoritarian protests successful Hong Kong, subject aggression against the self-ruled land of Taiwan and more. Xi’s deputies, meanwhile, person lashed retired against the Biden White House for interfering successful what it sees arsenic interior Chinese matters.

“It seems to beryllium our work arsenic the leaders of China and the United States to guarantee that the contention betwixt our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended oregon unintended, alternatively than simple, straightforward competition,” Biden said astatine the commencement of the meeting.

Xi told Biden the 2 sides request to amended communication. The 2 leaders traveled unneurotic erstwhile some were vice presidents and cognize each different well.

“I basal acceptable to enactment with you, Mr. President, to physique consensus, instrumentality progressive steps and determination China-U.S. relations guardant successful a affirmative direction,” said Xi, who called Biden his “old friend.”

The U.S. president was joined successful the Roosevelt Room for the video telephone by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan and nationalist information aides Kurt Campbell, Laura Rosenberger and Jon Czin.

The high-level diplomacy had a interaction of pandemic Zoom gathering informality arsenic the 2 leaders waved to each different erstwhile they saw 1 different connected the screen.

Biden would person preferred to conscionable Xi successful person, but the Chinese person has not near his state since earlier the commencement of the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House floated the thought of a virtual gathering arsenic the adjacent champion happening to let for the 2 leaders to person a candid speech astir a wide scope of strains successful the relationship.

Chinese officials said Taiwan would beryllium their apical contented for the talks. Tensions person heightened arsenic the Chinese subject has dispatched an expanding fig of combatant jets adjacent the self-ruled land of Taiwan, which Beijing considers portion of its territory.

“The Taiwan contented concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, arsenic good arsenic China’s halfway interest,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday. “It is the astir important and delicate contented successful China-U.S. relations.”

The White House said Biden volition abide by the longstanding U.S. “One China” policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defence ties with Taipei. Chinese subject forces held exercises past week adjacent Taiwan successful effect to a sojourn by a U.S. legislature delegation to the island.

With Beijing acceptable to big the Winter Olympics successful February and Xi expected to beryllium approved by Communist Party leaders to service a 3rd five-year word arsenic president adjacent twelvemonth — unprecedented successful caller Chinese past — the Chinese person whitethorn beryllium looking to stabilize the narration successful the adjacent term. White House property caput Jen Psaki added that the “condensing of power” successful China made the leader-to-leader conversations essential.

Slowing economical maturation and a brewing lodging situation besides loom ample for Beijing.

At the aforesaid time, Biden, who has seen his polling numbers diminish astatine location amid concerns astir the lingering coronavirus pandemic, ostentation and proviso concatenation problems, is looking to find a measurement of equilibrium connected the astir consequential overseas argumentation substance helium faces.

Despite his home problems, White House officials made the lawsuit that Biden was coming into his gathering with Xi from a presumption of strength.

Earlier Monday, Biden signed into instrumentality a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, authorities to upgrade the nation’s crumbling infrastructure that the Democrat argued is important for the U.S. arsenic it seeks to clasp a competitory borderline implicit China.

“Because of this law, adjacent twelvemonth volition beryllium the archetypal twelvemonth successful 20 years American infrastructure concern volition turn faster than China’s,” Biden said. “We volition will erstwhile again person the champion roads, bridges, ports and airports implicit the adjacent decade.”

The White House acceptable debased expectations for the gathering with Xi: No large announcements oregon adjacent a associated connection were anticipated.

The U.S. president has held up his narration with Xi arsenic grounds of his heartfelt content that bully overseas argumentation starts with gathering beardown idiosyncratic relationships.

The nationalist warmth — Xi referred to Biden arsenic his “old friend” erstwhile the then-vice president visited China successful 2013, portion Biden spoke of their “friendship” — has cooled present that some men are heads of state. Biden bristled successful June erstwhile asked by a newsman if helium would property his aged person to cooperate with a World Health Organization probe into the coronavirus origins.

“Let’s get thing straight: We cognize each different well; we’re not aged friends,” Biden said. “It’s conscionable axenic business.”

Xi, however, astatine the commencement of the gathering gave a motion to the warmth successful the earlier days of their relationship, saying, “I americium precise blessed to spot my aged friend.”

Biden said helium expected the 2 would walk plentifulness of clip discussing areas wherever determination is simply a gulf of differences, including quality rights, economics, and “ensuring a escaped and unfastened Indo-Pacific.”

“We person ever communicated with 1 different precise honestly and candidly. We ne'er locomotion distant wondering what the different antheral is thinking,” Biden said.