Biden, Xi meet in Indonesia to ‘manage’ differences

Nearly two years ago, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a move aimed at “managing” differences between superpowers competing for global influence amid mounting economic and security tensions. The first in-person talks between US presidents since taking office began on Monday.

Xi and Biden shook hands at a luxury resort hotel in Indonesia and sat down for what is expected to be several hours of conversation after attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit.

“In our view, as leaders of both countries, we hope that China and the United States can manage differences, prevent competition from approaching conflict, and find ways to cooperate on pressing global issues. We share the responsibility to show. We need mutual cooperation,” Biden said at the beginning of the meeting.

Xi called on Biden to “show the right path” and “improve relations” between China and the United States.

Both men stepped up their political positions at home to attend the long-awaited meeting. The Democrats have a chance to move up one rank in next month’s runoff vote in Georgia, with the Democrats victorious and seizing control of the U.S. Senate. was given a term of one year. tradition.

“There are very few misunderstandings,” Biden told reporters in Cambodia on Sunday, attending a gathering of Southeast Asian nations before leaving for Indonesia. We need to understand what is most important to each of us.”

Biden added, “His situation at home has clearly changed.” The president said of his own situation:

The White House aide has repeatedly called for downplaying the notion of conflict between the two countries, acknowledging that he believes the two countries can work together to address common challenges such as climate change and health security. I have emphasized.

But relations have become more strained under successive US administrations as economic, trade, human rights and security differences surface.

As president, Mr. Biden has spoken out on human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities, crackdowns on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive trade practices, military provocations against autonomous Taiwan, and Russia’s prosecution of war. China has repeatedly been held accountable for its differences. against Ukraine. Beijing has avoided direct assistance, such as the supply of weapons, but has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Russia’s war.

Taiwan has emerged as one of the most contentious issues between Washington and Beijing. Biden has repeatedly said during his tenure that the United States would defend the islands that China seeks to eventually unify in case of a Beijing-led invasion. He stressed that China’s policy has not changed. That policy allows the Beijing government to maintain informal and defense ties with Taipei, and a stance of “strategic ambiguity” over whether to respond militarily if the island is attacked. ing.

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Tensions escalated further when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) visited Taiwan in August, prompting China to retaliate with military exercises and the launch of ballistic missiles into nearby waters.

The Biden administration also blocked the export of advanced computer chips to China last month. This is a national security move that strengthens US competition against Beijing. Chinese officials were quick to condemn the restrictions.

The two had five phone or video calls during Biden’s tenure, but White House officials said those encounters were no substitute for Biden’s face-to-face meeting with Xi. This task has become all the more important after President Xi Jinping consolidated his grip on power through the party congress.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said before the meeting that China was committed to peaceful coexistence but would resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.

“It is important for the United States to work with China to properly manage differences, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, and put China-US relations back on the right track of healthy and stable development,” he said. . in Beijing.

President Xi has stayed close to home during the global COVID-19 pandemic, implementing a “zero COVID” policy with massive lockdowns that have disrupted global supply chains.

He traveled outside China for the first time since the pandemic began in September, stopping in Kazakhstan, then Uzbekistan, and traveled to Shanghai with President Putin and other leaders of the Central Asian Security Group in eight countries. Participated in cooperative organization.

White House officials and Chinese officials spent weeks negotiating the details of the meeting, which was held at Xi’s hotel, with translators providing simultaneous interpretation via headsets.

U.S. officials wanted to know how Mr. Biden’s roundtables would be approached after Mr. Xi cemented his position as unquestioned national leader.

Biden and Xi Jinping each brought a small delegation to the discussion. U.S. officials said they hoped Xi would bring in newly promoted officials, which would lead to more substantive engagement in the future.

Before meeting Xi, Biden met with G20 host Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss a series of new development initiatives for the archipelago, including investments in climate, security and education. Announced.

Many of Biden’s conversations and engagements during a three-country tour that took him to Egypt and Cambodia before landing in Bali on Sunday were intentionally gearing him up to meet Xi.

The two men have a history dating back to serving as vice presidents of their country. The US president stressed that he knew Xi Jinping well and wanted to use the meeting to better understand their position.

Biden, referring to a conversation with President Xi when he toured the United States before the Nov. 8 election, said he used the Chinese leader’s penchant for authoritarian rule to explain why democracy should win. appealed to voters.

The president’s views were somewhat justified on the world stage. A White House aide said several world leaders reached out to Biden while he was in Cambodia. He has been keeping a close eye on the results of the midterm elections, and I told him that the result was a victory for democracy.

Associated Press writers Josh Bork of Baltimore and Darlene Superville of Washington contributed to this report.