US President Joe Biden keeps Xi Jinping waiting on first call

Joe Biden is continuing to canvass the views of allies and partners before his first call with China’s President Xi Jinping.

You first … Joe Biden with Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in 2011. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden has discussed security issues with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the US President continues to canvass the views of allies and partners before his first call with China’s President Xi Jinping.

China-related security concerns dominated the discussion between Mr Biden and Mr Modi, according to a statement released by the White House.

“The leaders agreed to continuing close co-operation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad,” the statement said.

It was Mr Biden’s 10th call to a world leader since becoming President, including China-dominated discussions with the prime ministers of the other two members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Australia’s Scott Morrison and Japan’s Yoshihide Suga.

Three weeks after Mr Biden’s inauguration, Mr Xi is the only leader of the four other permanent members of the UN Security Council not to have received a call. “It’s clear from the beginning that we are engaging with allies and partners first,” Bonnie Glaser, a Washington-based expert on Chinese foreign policy, told The Australian. The only exception has been Mr Biden’s testy call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, which was precipitated by urgent negotiations over a missile reduction treaty.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr Xi’s top foreign policy adviser, Yang Jiechi, had a preparatory call over the weekend. But that phone call was so strained that some on the Chinese side believe it might have delayed the Biden-Xi call until after Lunar New Year on Friday, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

As China’s state-controlled media has run voluminous editorials and commentary about how America should improve the relationship, Mr Biden has talked to the leaders of Canada, Mexico, Britain, France, Germany and South Korea, as well as Japan, Australia, South Korea and Russia. Some in Beijing are becoming impatient.

“Repairing ties with China is more important than fixing US-led alliances. Biden should make his move as soon as possible otherwise China’s patience and sincerity won’t last forever,” Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the nationalistic Global Times.

Ms Glaser, a senior adviser on Asia at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said over recent weeks China’s diplomats seemed to be more focused on their domestic audience.

“They are very constrained by the domestic political context, and I think this goes way beyond public opinion. I imagine it has a great deal to do with this year being the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party,” she said.