Chinese leader Xi Jinping last met with President Biden on Saturday, but is already looking ahead to President-elect Donald Trump and his “America First” policy, saying Beijing is “ready to cooperate with the new U.S. administration.” “There is,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference in Peru, President Xi warned that stable China-US relations are important not only for the two countries but also for “the future and destiny of humanity.”
Biden plans to meet with China's Xi at Latin American summit, Trump's presence will increase
“Choose wisely,” he warned. “We will continue to search for the right path for the two superpowers to get along with each other.”
Mr. Xi did not mention President Trump by name, appearing to express concern that the president-elect's protectionist comments during his campaign campaign could plunge U.S.-China relations into a new trough.
“China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, manage differences, and strive for a steady transition in Sino-U.S. relations for the benefit of the two peoples,” Xi said through an interpreter. “There is,” he said.
President Biden shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday before bilateral talks in Lima, Peru. (Pool photo via Leah Millis/AP)
Mr. Xi, who has firmly established himself at the top of China's political hierarchy, spoke powerfully in a short speech to reporters. Biden, who is ending more than 50 years of public service, spoke in broad strokes about the future of bilateral relations.
He reflected not only on the past four years, but also on the decades they had known each other.
“We didn't always see eye to eye, but our conversations were always frank and candid. We never made fun of each other,” Biden said. “These conversations will prevent miscalculations and ensure that competition between the two countries escalates into conflict.”
Mr. Biden urged Mr. Xi to discourage North Korea from further supporting Russia's war against Ukraine. Surrounded by their entourage, the leaders gathered around a long rectangular table in a vast conference room at a Lima hotel.
They had much to discuss, including China's indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, an autonomous democracy that Beijing claims as its own. On artificial intelligence, they agreed on the need to maintain human control over decisions to use nuclear weapons and improve the safety of rapidly expanding technologies and international cooperation more broadly.
President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday during a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
There is much uncertainty about the future direction of U.S.-China relations under President Trump, who has pledged to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China.
Already, many American companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, are diversifying their sourcing away from China. Shoe brand Steve Madden has announced plans to cut imports from China by up to 45% next year.
In a congratulatory message to Trump on his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, President Xi called on the United States and China to manage their differences and get along in the new era. On Saturday, Mr. Xi spoke with Mr. Biden on camera, but it was unmistakable that his message was aimed at Mr. Trump.
“While the scientific and technological revolution is flourishing, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution,” Xi said. “Only mutually beneficial cooperation leads to common development. 'Narrow gardens and high fences' is not what great powers should pursue.”
Biden administration officials said they will advise the Trump campaign that dealing with intense competition from China will likely be the most important foreign policy challenge they face.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday that Biden emphasized to Xi that “the next two months are a period of transition,” and that the president expected to keep U.S.-China relations “on stable terms.” ''He said he wanted to hand it over to a new nation. management.
Mr. Biden views his relationship with Mr. Xi as one of the most important on the international stage and has made great efforts to develop that relationship. The two first met when they traveled to the United States and China while the other was vice president, and both say their interactions left an indelible impression. The two last met a year ago in Northern California on the sidelines of APEC.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with President Joe Biden on Saturday in a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
“For more than a decade, you and I have spent a lot of time together, here, in China, and everywhere in between,” Biden said. “We have spent a long time addressing these issues.”
But the past four years have been filled with a steady stream of difficult moments.
The FBI this week revealed new details in its federal investigation into the Chinese government's hacking efforts against U.S. communications networks. Initial findings revealed a “widespread and significant” cyber-espionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans working in government and politics.
Sullivan said Biden raised the issue during his meeting with Xi and said the U.S. would say more about the investigation in the coming weeks.
U.S. intelligence officials also say China is ramping up sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology used by Russia to make missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weapons used in its war against Ukraine. It is evaluated that it is
And tensions escalated last year when Biden ordered the downing of a Chinese reconnaissance balloon that crossed the United States.
Mr. Biden wants Mr. Xi to step up China's engagement to prevent the already dangerous situation with North Korea from escalating further.
Biden, along with South Korean President Yun Seok-yew and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, announced Friday that North Korea's Kim Jong-un will send thousands of troops to help repel Ukrainian forces that have seized territory in Russia's Kursk border region. He condemned the Labor Party chairman's decision.
White House officials have expressed frustration that Beijing, which accounts for the lion's share of North Korea's trade, is not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.
North Korea also supplies Russia with artillery and other ammunition, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials. The United States, Japan, and South Korea have also expressed alarm over North Korea's increasing pace of ballistic missile tests.
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Mr. Kim ordered test exercises in the run-up to this month's U.S. presidential election and claims he has made progress in efforts to build the ability to strike the U.S. mainland.
Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden started their day at the APEC summit's summit retreat, where they all posed for a photo wearing scarves made from the fur of the vicuña, Peru's iconic animal. Leaders of these gatherings are usually presented with traditional costumes from the host country, which they typically wear for photos.
