Xi Jinping warns Joe Biden: ‘Confrontation a disaster for both countries’
In their first phone call, Chinese president Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden confrontation between the two nations would be a ‘disaster’.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since taking office, raising concerns about Beijing’s economic coercion, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasingly assertive actions in the region.
The call on Thursday followed talks between Mr Biden and allies across Asia and Europe, as the administration attempts a co-ordinated approach on China after the chaos of the Trump era.
On the same day as the highly anticipated leaders’ call, Mr Biden made his first visit as President to the Pentagon where he pointedly announced a major review into the whole-of-government “China challenge”.
“I told him I will work with China when it benefits the American people,” Mr Biden tweeted after the call made just before the Lunar New Year holiday.
The US President has inherited the most strained relationship with China in decades after the Trump administration launched a bruising trade war with the rising power followed by a direct attack on the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr Biden, a veteran on the international stage who has spent more time with Mr Xi than any other world leader, has indicated he will take a firm approach to China, while co-operating on areas of common interest, including COVID-19, climate change and weapons proliferation, which were all discussed on the call. Mr Xi is also determined to look tough for his domestic audience.
The Chinese President on Thursday warned Mr Biden that confrontation between the two nations would be a “disaster”, according to an account released by China’s official newsagency Xinhua. “Co-operation is the only correct choice for both parties. Sino-US co-operation can accomplish many major events that benefit both countries and the world. Sino-US confrontation is definitely a disaster for both countries and the world,” Mr Xi said.
According to the authorised Chinese version of the conversation, Mr Xi said the two countries must “treat each other as equals”.
“The issues of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are internal affairs of China, and concern China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Xi said. “The US should respect China’s core interests and be cautious.’’
The official statement from the White House presented Mr Biden as taking a similarly firm approach.
“President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan,” the White House said.
Mr Biden said the US would pursue “practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies”, according to the White House.
In a visit to the Pentagon timed on the same day as the first call with America’s biggest security rival, Mr Biden met his Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Mr Biden announced a China taskforce that would focus on the US military’s footprint in Asia, technology and intelligence, along with the role of allies and partners. The group will work over the next several months and will be led by Mr Austin’s top assistant on China, Ely Ratner, a longtime Biden aide known for his tough approach to China.
Mr Biden said the taskforce was needed “so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters that will require a whole-of-government effort”.
He said the results of the Pentagon review needed to be backed by both political parties and congress, as well as bring together allies and other partners.
Mr Biden’s call with Mr Xi was his 11th call as President and after three weeks of conversations with countries including Australia, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, South Korea and Japan.
Many of those talks were dominated by China-related security and economic concerns.
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