Joe Biden, Xi Jinping move to stabilise US-China relations

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping signal an effort to stabilise relations between Washington and Beijing, instructing officials to resume talks on major global priorities.

US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua. Picture: AFP.

President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signalled an effort to stabilise relations between Washington and Beijing that have hit their lowest point in decades, instructing officials to resume talks on major global priorities, while the two countries acknowledged areas of deep disagreement that could disrupt efforts to improve ties.

“I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War,” Mr. Biden said following the meeting on Monday, which was held in Bali, Indonesia, ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. “We’re going to compete vigorously, but I’m not looking for conflict. I’m looking to manage this competition responsibly.”

The first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Biden became president stretched over roughly three hours, including a break. It followed months of high tensions following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August and widening differences over a host of issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and trade.

Sending a message on Taiwan was China’s top priority for the meeting, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Xi said the self-governing island, which China claims as its territory, is the first red line in the China-U. S. relationship that can never be crossed, according to the Chinese readout. “Anyone who tries to split Taiwan from China would be defying the virtuous cause of the Chinese nation,” Mr. Xi said.

President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping signalled an effort to stabilise relations between Washington and Beijing. Picture: AFP.

Any possible visits from senior U.S. politicians to Taiwan could be seen by the Chinese as provocative actions, and could raise the possibility of clashes between the superpowers, according to people familiar with the matter. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) has said he would visit Taiwan if he becomes speaker. Republicans are inching toward taking back control of the House.

Mr. Biden said in the news conference after the meeting that he didn’t think China would make an imminent attempt to invade Taiwan and stressed that longstanding U.S. policy toward the island hasn’t changed. During the talks with Mr. Xi, he raised objections to what the White House called China’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan.

Mr. Biden described Mr. Xi as direct and straightforward and said he believes the Chinese leader is willing to compromise on some issues, though he didn’t name them. He said he sought to make his intentions clear to Mr. Xi in order to avoid miscommunications that could inflame tensions.

The talks Monday signalled a reopening of communication lines between the two sides that largely ruptured after Mrs. Pelosi’s Taiwan visit. Beijing responded to that trip by conducting military drills and suspended climate talks and a broad range of law-enforcement co-operation with the U.S., while cancelling some two-way military dialogues.

The White House said the two leaders had empowered senior officials to deepen talks. Mr. Biden also tasked Secretary of State Antony Blinken with visiting China to follow up on Monday’s meeting.

The two countries planned the talks over several months and dozens of hours of negotiations, after Messrs. Biden and Xi decided during a July phone call to work toward setting up an in-person meeting. While this was the first face-to-face meeting between Messrs. Biden and Xi as their countries’ top leaders, the two have had five virtual or phone meetings since last year and had extensive interactions when they served as vice presidents of their respective countries.

The first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Joe Biden became president stretched over roughly three hours. Picture: AFP.

During the meeting, the U.S. president raised the cases of American citizens who are detained in China. And he expressed concerns with China’s treatment of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and Beijing’s suppression of civil liberties in Hong Kong.

The White House said the two leaders agreed that “a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.” Though Mr. Xi has signalled his concerns about the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine before, the White House was eager for the Chinese president to reiterate that stance during the meeting, officials said.

Mr. Xi also restated China’s support for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and expressed hope that the U.S., the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will commence comprehensive talks with Moscow.

Mr. Xi claimed a norm-breaking third term as Communist Party chief in late October, when he also elevated loyalists into the party’s top echelons. The personnel reshuffle is expected to continue until China’s annual legislative session in the coming spring, where top state positions — including the premiership and other cabinet roles — will be formalised.

Mr. Xi brought newly empowered members of his leadership to Monday’s meeting. U.S. officials said they saw the meeting as an opportunity to get greater clarity on points of contact in the Chinese government, gain new directives from Mr. Xi to re-engage with the Biden administration and possibly lay the groundwork for future conversations between the two leaders.

Dow Jones