Mr. Xi told Mr. Biden that he would work with Mr. Trump to resolve US-China differences
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Xi Jinping told Joe Biden that China is ready to cooperate with Donald Trump’s new administration to resolve differences in his final meeting with his American counterpart.
Chinese and US leaders met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima on Saturday. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Xi told Biden that bilateral relations had seen “ups and downs” over the past four years, but the countries had “engaged in effective dialogue and cooperation” and “overall stable” relationship.
“China is willing to work with the US government to maintain dialogue, expand cooperation and resolve differences. . . for the benefit of the two peoples,” Mr. Xi told his American counterpart, according to the Chinese embassy.
Biden told Xi that the US-China relationship was the most important “alliance,” before correcting himself and saying it was “the most important relationship,” according to remarks recorded by reporters with present in the room for a preliminary welcome before starting the meeting. summit.
“Our two countries cannot let any competition turn to conflict,” Biden said in one of his classic phrases when meeting Xi Jinping. “Over the last four years, I think we’ve proven that this relationship is possible.”
Relations between the US and China have plummeted over the past four years, reaching their lowest level in decades when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022 and the year after. Chinese spy balloons flew over the US last year. The relationship has since stabilized, but the superpowers remain at odds over many issues.
The meeting took place two months before Mr. Trump returned as president. In recent days, he has appointed people with a tough stance on China to top positions, including a Florida congressman. Mike Waltz to national security adviser and Florida senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state.
But experts are waiting to see if Elon Musk — who has become close to Trump and who manufactures and sells Tesla vehicles in China — will urge the president to take a softer approach toward Beijing.
While Xi repeated his mantra that China wants to cooperate with the United States, he said that “competition among major countries should not be the basic logic of the times.” He also opposes the idea of separation and US measures to deny China advanced semiconductor-related technologies in what Washington calls a “small yard, high fence” policy.
“Small yard, high fence” is not something a big country should pursue,” Xi told Biden.
The meeting in Lima was the first between the heads of state since they held a summit in San Francisco a year ago at the last APEC forum.
Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund, noted that previous Chinese reports on Xi-Biden meetings mentioned Biden’s own statements, which included reassurances. security on a number of issues, including America’s lack of support for Taiwanese independence.
“China’s reading of the leaders’ summit in Peru omits these statements — there is actually no mention of anything Biden said to Xi Jinping,” Glaser said. “With Biden leaving office, the Chinese know that these reassurances may no longer be US policy.”
Biden and Xi held bilateral meetings with other APEC leaders ahead of the summit on Saturday afternoon, and both met with their Japanese and South Korean counterparts. Xi also met with counterparts from New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Chile. Biden met with Lin Hsin-I, Taiwan’s representative at the forum, who invited the US president to visit Taiwan.
In a group photo from the summit taken on Saturday, Xi appears front and center, while Biden stands to the side. All leaders wore traditional Peruvian vicuña wool scarves, in keeping with the tradition in which participants wear costumes native to the host country.
