Biden, Xi try to tamp down tension in long virtual meeting

By AAMER MADHANI and COLLEEN LONG

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping’s much than three-hour virtual speech concluded with the leaders of the superpowers agreeing they request to tread cautiously arsenic their nations find themselves successful an progressively fraught competition.

Facing home pressures astatine home, some Biden and Xi seemed determined to little the somesthesia successful what for some sides is their astir important — and often turbulent — narration connected the planetary stage.

“As I’ve said before, it seems to maine our work arsenic leaders of China and the United States is to guarantee that the contention betwixt our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended oregon unintended,” Biden told Xi astatine the commencement of their virtual gathering Monday. “Just simple, straightforward competition.”

The White House acceptable debased expectations for the meeting, and nary large announcements oregon adjacent a associated connection were delivered. Still, White House officials said the 2 leaders had a substantive exchange.

Xi greeted the U.S. president arsenic his “old friend” and echoed Biden’s cordial code successful his ain opening remarks, saying, “China and the United States request to summation connection and cooperation.”

The narration has had nary shortage of hostility since Biden strode into the White House successful January and rapidly criticized Beijing for quality rights abuses against Uyghurs successful northwest China, suppression of 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 they spot arsenic interior Chinese matters.

The White House successful a connection said that Biden again raised concerns astir China’s quality rights practices, and made wide that helium sought to “protect American workers and industries from the PRC’s unfair commercialized and economical practices.” The 2 besides spoke astir cardinal determination challenges, including North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran.

As the U.S.-China tensions person mounted, some leaders besides person recovered themselves nether the value of accrued challenges successful their ain backyards.

Biden, who has watched his canvass numbers diminish amid concerns astir the lingering coronavirus pandemic, ostentation and proviso concatenation problems, was looking to find a measurement of equilibrium connected the astir consequential overseas argumentation substance helium faces.

Xi, meanwhile, is facing a COVID-19 resurgence, rampant vigor shortages, and a looming lodging situation that Biden officials interest could origin tremors successful the planetary market.

“Right now, some China and the United States are astatine captious stages of development, and humanity lives successful a planetary village, and we look aggregate challenges together,” Xi said.

The U.S. president was joined successful the Roosevelt Room for the video telephone by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a fistful of aides. Xi, for his part, was accompanied successful the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People by communist enactment manager Ding Xuexiang and a fig of advisers.

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, with Xi telling Biden, “It’s the archetypal clip for america to conscionable virtually, though it’s not arsenic bully arsenic a face-to-face meeting.”

Biden would person preferred to conscionable Xi successful person, but the Chinese person has not near his state since 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.

Xi told Biden that portion it was bully to spot him that a virtual gathering wasn’t “as bully arsenic a face-to-face meeting.”

Chinese officials said successful beforehand that 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. Chinese subject forces held exercises past week adjacent Taiwan successful effect to a sojourn by a U.S. legislature delegation to the island.

“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 reiterated the U.S. volition abide by the longstanding U.S. “One China” policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defence ties with Taipei. But Biden besides made wide the U.S. “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to alteration the presumption quo oregon undermine bid and stableness crossed the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said.

With Beijing acceptable to big the Winter Olympics successful February and Xi expected to beryllium approved by Communist Party leaders to service arsenic enactment person adjacent twelvemonth and past a 3rd word arsenic president successful 2023 — unprecedented successful caller Chinese past — the Chinese person whitethorn beryllium looking to stabilize the narration successful the adjacent term.

“China and the United States should respect each other, coexist successful peace, and prosecute win-win cooperation,” Xi said.

Despite his home problems, White House officials made the lawsuit that Biden was coming into the gathering 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 declared astatine his signing ceremony. “We volition will erstwhile again person the champion roads, bridges, ports and airports implicit the adjacent decade.”

Both leaders gave nods to their past with the other. Biden noted that the 2 person spent an “awful … batch of time” speaking to each different implicit the years, and person ne'er walked distant “wondering what the different antheral is thinking.” During their talk, some leaders recalled things that the others had said successful past conversations arsenic they sought to antagonistic and thrust location arguments, according to a elder Biden medication authoritative who briefed reporters aft the gathering connected the information of anonymity.

But 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.

Xi, however, seemed funny successful publically reviving the warmth of the earlier days of their relationship, saying, “I americium precise blessed to spot my aged friend.”

During the aboriginal going of the Biden administration, the 2 sides person often traded recriminations and the presidents’ apical advisers person engaged successful unproductive exchanges. But determination person been moments of progress.

Last week, the U.S. and China pledged astatine U.N. clime talks successful Glasgow, Scotland, to summation their practice and velocity up enactment to rein successful climate-damaging emissions.

Republicans person accused the Biden medication of failing to clasp Beijing accountable connected quality rights for the involvement of pursuing its clime agenda.

“As helium turns a unsighted oculus to quality rights atrocities to prosecute his governmental agenda, Biden has allowed China to endanger American information and our allies’ sovereignty, portion undermining the advancement of state crossed the globe,” the Republican National Committee said successful a connection soon earlier the commencement of the leaders’ meeting.

The White House has said it views practice connected clime alteration arsenic thing successful China’s interest, thing the 2 nations should cooperate connected contempt differences connected different aspects of the relationship.

“None of this is simply a favour to either of our countries — what we bash for 1 different — but it’s conscionable liable satellite leadership,” Biden told Xi. “You’re a large satellite leader, and truthful is the United States.”

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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu successful Beijing contributed to this report.