White House officials insisted that U.S. President Joe Biden does not consider China's President Xi Jinping a "friend" after Xi, speaking through an interpreter in a virtual meeting with Biden Monday night, referred to his American counterpart as "my old friend."
Asked what Xi was getting at - and if Xi was trying to undermine the U.S. - White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates didn't answer directly, but reiterated that Biden doesn't see Xi as an "old friend."
"I'm not going to speak for President Xi," Bates told a reporter on Air Force One as Biden headed to New Hampshire.
"But like you just mentioned," Bates continued, "you've heard explicitly from the president himself, that he has a longstanding relationship with President Xi. They've spent a great deal of time together. They are able to have candid discussions, be direct with each other, which helps them be productive. But he does not consider President Xi an old friend."
Biden has often spoken of his long-term relationship with Xi and the time they spent together in person when they were both served as vice presidents, ABC News reported.
But this June, Biden made clear he didn't think of Xi as an "old friend," saying in response to a question at a news conference in Geneva: "Let's get something straight. We know each other well; we're not old friends. It's just pure business."
The two world leaders spoke for about three and a half hours via videoconference on Monday evening.
