Amid talks at clearing up the seeming toxic relations between China and the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on Wednesday that both countries should be fully capable of rising above differences in their first meeting in a year.
With the two leaders looking to get communication back on track after a tumultuous year, Xi Jinping pointedly said; “The China-US relationship, which is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, should be perceived and envisioned in a broad context of the accelerating global transformations”.
Biden welcomed the Chinese leader at the Filoli estate, a country house and gardens about 30 miles (48 km) south of San Francisco, where they later moved for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
The China-US relationship has never been smooth sailing over the past 50 years or more, and it always faces problems of one kind or another. Yet it has kept moving forward amid twists and turns.
“For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option”, the Chinese Leader said and summed up this position by stressing that the planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, and one country’s success is an opportunity for the other.
During the bilateral meeting, Xi called the US-China relationship “the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” and said he and Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world, and for history.”
Responding to Biden’s opening remarks that tensions should “not veer into conflict”, Xi said; “It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflict and confrontation have unbearable consequences for both sides”, even as he conveyed a clear message that the United States should not harbour intentions of suppressing or containing China.
Clarifying that Beijing has no intention of surpassing or displacing Washington, the Chinese President also addressed a perennially sensitive topic, Taiwan, and labeling the Taiwan question as the most crucial issue in US-China relations, he acknowledged positive statements from the US during a recent meeting in Bali but pressed for concrete actions aligning with the US stance of not supporting “Taiwan independence” and called for an end to providing arms to the self-governed island state.
A summary of Biden’s first meeting with Xi Jinping since the pair were in Bali last year, and Biden’s subsequent remarks on the meeting.
During the meeting at the Filoli estate, 30 miles south of San Francisco, Xi Jinping called the partnership between the US and China “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and said that he and Joe Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history”.
Ahead of the meeting, Xi and Biden pledged to cooperate more closely to fight climate change. Both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
Biden emphasized the value of the two leaders speaking in person, saying: “There’s no substitute for face-to-face discussions.” “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict,” Biden added. “And we also have to manage it responsibly … and work together when we see it in our interest to do so.”
In a tweet, the White House said that the US president and Chinese president had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues including international diplomacy.
In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi Jinping and the US’s relationship with China, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war. Among other comments about hostage negotiations and his approval of Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions, Biden said of the Israel-Hamas war: “I don’t know how long it’s gonna last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution.”
Meanwhile, a statement from the White House captured the Wednesday events thus; “Today in Woodside, California President Biden held a Summit with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral and global issues and exchanged views on areas of difference.”
The White House further tweeted that the US President and his Chinese counterpart had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues including international diplomacy.” – With The Guardian and agency reports
