U.S. President Joe Biden opened his virtual meeting with China’s Xi Jinping on Monday by saying their goal is to ensure competition “does not veer into conflict.”
According to China Central Television, the online meeting of the two leaders began at 08:46 Beijing time (03:46 Moscow time). The first half of the meeting lasted about 1 hour 56 minutes after which the sides took a break. The second half of the meeting began at 11:06 Beijing time (06:06 Moscow time) and lasted about 1 hour 18 minutes. In total, the talks lasted about 3 hours 14 minutes.
This is the first official meeting between the two leaders since the U.S. president assumed office in January 2021. Earlier, they exchanged messages and held telephone conversations. Their most recent telephone conversation was on September 10, 2021.
After the video call, a senior administration official described it as a "substantial back and forth" that was "respectful and straightforward and it was open," but the White House reported no major breakthroughs during the conversation.
“It seems to be our responsibility as the leaders of China and the United States to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended, rather than simple, straightforward competition," Biden said at the start of the meeting.
Xi told Biden the two sides need to improve communication. The two leaders traveled together when both were vice presidents and know each other well.
“I stand ready to work with you, Mr. President, to build consensus, take active steps and move China-U.S. relations forward in a positive direction,” said Xi, who called Biden his “old friend.”
Biden noted that the U.S. supports the "one China" policy during a video conference with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. This position was indicated in a statement made public by the White House on Tuesday.
"On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States remains committed to the ‘one China’ policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances (in relations with Taipei - TASS), and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the statement said.
The U.S. president was joined in the Roosevelt Room for the video call by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and national security aides Kurt Campbell, Laura Rosenberger and Jon Czin.
The high-level diplomacy had a touch of pandemic Zoom meeting informality as the two leaders waved to each other once they saw one another on the screen.
Biden would have preferred to meet Xi in person, but the Chinese leader has not left his country since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, CBS News reported.
The White House floated the idea of a virtual meeting as the next best thing to allow for the two leaders to have a candid conversation about a wide range of strains in the relationship.
With Beijing set to host the Winter Olympics in February and Xi expected to be approved by Communist Party leaders to serve a third five-year term as president next year — unprecedented in recent Chinese history — the Chinese leader may be looking to stabilize the relationship in the near term. White House press secretary Jen Psaki added that the “condensing of power” in China made the leader-to-leader conversations essential.
Slowing economic growth and a brewing housing crisis also loom large for Beijing.
At the same time, Biden, who has seen his polling numbers diminish at home amid concerns about the lingering coronavirus pandemic, inflation and supply chain problems, is looking to find a measure of equilibrium on the most consequential foreign policy matter he faces.
Despite his domestic problems, White House officials made the case that Biden was coming into his meeting with Xi from a position of strength.
Earlier Monday, Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, legislation to upgrade the nation’s crumbling infrastructure that the Democrat argued is crucial for the U.S. as it seeks to retain a competitive edge over China.
The White House set low expectations for the meeting with Xi: No major announcements or even a joint statement were anticipated.
