United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese language counterpart Xi Jinping have opened their first in-person assembly for the reason that former took workplace almost two years in the past, aiming to “handle” variations between the superpowers as they compete for world affect amid rising financial and safety tensions.
Xi and Biden greeted one another with a handshake at a luxurious resort on Indonesia’s Bali island on Monday, the place they’re attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit of enormous economies, earlier than they sat down for what was anticipated to be a dialog lasting a number of hours.
“Because the leaders of our two nations, we share duty, for my part, to point out that China and the USA can handle our variations, stop competitors from changing into something ever close to battle, and to seek out methods to work collectively on pressing world points that require our mutual cooperation,” Biden stated to open the assembly.
Xi stated he hoped they might “chart the proper course for the China-US relationship” and that he was ready for a “candid and in-depth alternate of views” with Biden.
Chinese language chief Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden have met for face-to-face talks for the primary time since Biden was elected to the White Home ⤵️
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— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 14, 2022
Reporting from the G20 summit, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays stated there was little hope that something notably substantial would come out of the assembly.
“It’s about two leaders who know one another from the previous, getting again to realizing one another once more, and constructing slightly extra belief to attempt to take away among the rigidity from the connection,” Bays stated.
“Each side are saying they’ve to discover a option to work collectively. The White Home briefing stated they want crimson traces and need to work out what one another’s limits are on key points.”
The 2 leaders entered the extremely anticipated assembly with bolstered political standing at house.
Democrats triumphantly held onto management of the US Senate, with an opportunity to spice up their ranks by one in a run-off election in Georgia subsequent month, whereas Xi was awarded an unprecedented third five-year time period in October by the Communist Get together’s Nationwide Congress, a break with custom.
“Now we have little or no misunderstanding,” Biden informed reporters in Cambodia on Sunday, the place he participated in a gathering of Southeast Asian nations earlier than leaving for Indonesia. “We simply obtained to determine the place the crimson traces are and … what are a very powerful issues to every of us going into the subsequent two years.”
Biden added: “His circumstance has modified, to state the plain, at house.” The president stated of his personal state of affairs: “I do know I’m coming in stronger.”
Contentious points
Relations have grown extra strained beneath successive US administrations, as financial, commerce, human rights and safety variations have come to the fore.
As president, Biden has repeatedly taken China to job for human rights abuses towards the Uighur folks and different ethnic minorities, crackdowns on democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive commerce practices, army provocations towards self-ruled Taiwan and variations over Russia’s prosecution of its warfare towards Ukraine.
Chinese language officers have largely refrained from public criticism of Russia’s warfare, though Beijing has averted direct help, resembling supplying arms.
Taiwan has emerged as probably the most contentious points between Washington and Beijing.
A number of occasions in his presidency, Biden has stated the US would defend the island – which China has eyed for eventual unification – in case of a Beijing-led invasion.
Tensions flared even larger when US Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, prompting China to retaliate with army drills and the firing of ballistic missiles into close by waters.
The Biden administration additionally blocked exports of superior laptop chips to China final month – a nationwide safety transfer that bolsters US competitors towards Beijing. Chinese language officers shortly condemned the restrictions.
Earlier than the assembly, Chinese language International Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning had stated China was dedicated to peaceable coexistence however would firmly defend its sovereignty, safety and growth pursuits.
“It will be important that the US work along with China to correctly handle variations, advance mutually useful cooperation, keep away from misunderstanding and miscalculation, and convey China-US relations again to the proper observe of sound and regular growth,” she stated at a day by day briefing in Beijing.