Biden And Xi's First Face To Face Bi-lateral Meeting: Managing Tensions Remains The Focus

On 14th November, US President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the 1st time, as president of the US. Biden met Xi for the 1st time when both were vice presidents in their own country and Xi was slated to become the next president of China. 

Both are attending the G20 summit in Bali and the bilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Before the meeting, Biden had said that the goal of the meeting was to "manage" the differences between their two nations and have a clear understanding of what the red lines are for each nation. 

Biden objected to China's "coercive and increasingly aggressive actions" toward Taiwan during his first in-person meeting on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference afterward, Biden said that when it comes to China, the US would "compete vigorously, but I'm not looking for conflict." 

"I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War," he added.

Biden reiterated US support for its longstanding "One China" policy, which recognizes the government in Beijing while allowing for informal relations and defense ties with Taipei, and its posture of "strategic ambiguity" over whether it would respond militarily if the island were attacked. He also said that he does not believe "there's any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan."

 Xi "stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations." He added that cross-strait peace and Taiwanese independence are as irreconcilable as water and fire.  

Xi added that national "unification" is the common aspiration of Chinese people.

According to Chinese media, Xi said to Biden that "China does not seek to change the existing international order or interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, and has no intention to challenge or displace the United States."

Both also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and agreed that use of nuclear weapons or even the threat of using nuclear weapons is completely unacceptable. 

"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," Biden said.

Before the meeting, Xi had said that he was looking ahead to a "candid and in-depth exchange of views". Biden was in Cambodia before landing in Bali, and in Cambodia, he told reporters that,"the situation for him at home has changed, to state the obvious. I know I am coming in stronger," in a reference to the midterm elections in the US. 

According to the White House, Biden said to Xi that China's economic practices "harm American workers and families, and workers and families around the world." At home, Biden has championed industrial policy. 

"I didn't find him more confrontational or more conciliatory. I found him the way he's always been, direct and straightforward," Biden said. It is being reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be travelling to China soon.