Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit, at a time when tensions between the two countries is at a high level. Shaking hands in front of their national flags, the two leaders posed smiling for the cameras.
Meeting face-to-face for the first time since Biden took office in January 2021, the two leaders gave the message of “cooperation despite differences” at the end of the 3-hour meeting.
In the meeting, which coincided with the tension between the USA and China, especially the Taiwan crisis, the parties emphasized the responsibility of the two countries to develop cooperation.
‘Relations should be chart right course’
Stating that the current state of China-US bilateral relations does not comply with the basic interests of the two countries and their peoples and the common expectations of the international community, Xi noted that they should chart the right course for the development of bilateral relations and push bilateral ties back to the track of healthy and stable development.
Pointing out that this meeting has attracted worldwide attention, Xi Jinping called on the two countries, together with other countries, to add hope to world peace, give confidence in global stability and provide dynamism to collective development.
He expressed willingness to continue candid and in-depth exchanges with the US president on strategic issues in China-US ties and key global and regional issues.
Responsibility to manage differences
U.S. President Biden stated that the two countries should avoid conflict, pointing out that the leaders of the United States and China “have a responsibility to manage their differences and find ways to work together”.
“As the leaders of our two nations, we share responsibility, in my view, to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from turning into conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation,” Biden said in his remarks during the bilateral meeting.
Taiwan warning
In the first statements made after the meeting of the two leaders, it was noteworthy that issues such as Taiwan, Ukraine, the chip crisis, and economic competition were not on the agenda.
However, Biden brought up a number of debated topics during the meeting, according to the White House, including raising U.S. objections to China’s “coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan”, Beijing’s “non-market economic practices”, and practices in “Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and human rights more broadly”.
On the other hand, according to Xinhua news agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged U.S. President Joe Biden during their meeting that the Taiwan question was the “very core of China’s core interests” and the “first red line” in bilateral ties that must not be crossed.
Beijing-Washington line
Washington-Beijing relations have recently been shaken by escalating tensions over a series of agendas, ranging from US officials’ statements and practices regarding Taiwan and Hong Kong that violate the one-China principle, and US restrictions on Chinese technology.
But U.S. officials said there have been quiet efforts by both Beijing and Washington over the past two months to repair relations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters in Bali earlier the meeting aimed to stabilise their relationship and to create a “more certain atmosphere” for U.S. businesses.
The two leaders, who have made five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021, most recently met in person during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi suspended his foreign visits for about 2.5 years and did not prefer face-to-face diplomacy.
Xi hosted Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing for the first time in July, made his first overseas visit to Kazakhstan in September, and then went to Uzbekistan and attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit.
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