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President Joe Biden has dismissed speculations of a new cold war between the U.S and China.
Biden stated this following a three hour summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Indonesia on Monday.
The US president said there “need not be a new Cold War” between the U.S. and China,
He also said he doesn’t “think there’s any imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan,” despite escalating rhetoric and aggressive military moves by the P.R.C. in the Taiwan Straits.
Biden and his counterpart held the much anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of global economically developed nations in Bali.
Biden said he and Xi spoke frankly, and they agreed to send diplomats and cabinet members from their administrations to meet with one another in person to resolve pressing issues.
The meeting was the first one Biden and Xi have held face-to-face since the U.S. president was elected in 2020, and it appeared to represent a significant thaw in relations between Washington and its biggest strategic competitor and long-term military adversary.
Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the conversation was “in-depth, candid and constructive” in a statement afterwards.
The two leaders reached “important common understandings,” said the MFA, and they were prepared now “to take concrete actions to put China-U.S. relations back on the track of steady development.”
Biden is meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping first time in-person encounter since Biden took office.
After his meeting, Biden told reporters he was “open and candid” with Xi about the range of matters where Beijing and Washington disagree. He cast doubt on an imminent invasion of self-governing Taiwan, and seemed hopeful his message about avoiding all-out conflict was received.
The US president was frank that he and Xi came nowhere near resolving the litany of issues that have helped drive the US-China relationship to its lowest point in decades.
Biden said at a news conference, “I’m not suggesting this is kumbaya, but I do not believe there’s a need for concern, as one of you raised a legitimate question, a new Cold War.”
Biden entered Monday’s talks hoping for an opportunity to take stock with Xi of the world’s most important bilateral relationship. He described Xi as not overly confrontational but instead “the way he’s always been: direct and straightforward.”
“He was clear, and I was clear that we will defend American interests and values, promote universal human rights and stand up for the international order and work in lockstep with our allies and partners,” Biden said. “We’re going to compete vigorously but I’m not looking for conflict,” he said.
