During a long three-hour interview, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping tried Monday, November 14 to ease tensions between the United States and China. On the eve of the G20 summit, which is being held in Bali (Indonesia), the American and Chinese presidents shook hands and spoke at length for the first time since the arrival of the Democrat at the White House in January 2021. With, for each of them, the objective of finding areas of convergence without avoiding annoying subjects.
On relations between the two countries
Joe Biden has said a new Cold War is unnecessary. Xi Jinping meanwhile stressed that the two countries “share more common subjects than subjects which oppose them”according to a report of the meeting by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The two leaders adopted a more conciliatory tone than in the past three years, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi Jinping tried to appease his counterpart by assuring him that China had no intention of taking the place of the United States or “change the existing international order”.
On the bilateral level, the American president issued his “worries” on respect for human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong and warned that the United States “will continue to offer vigorous competition” to China but felt that it was necessary “leave the channels of communication open”.
On the climate crisis
If the White House had warned that concrete results should not be expected from the meeting between the presidents, an announcement was however noticed. The United States and China, the world’s two largest emitters of CO2, will indeed resume their cooperation in the face of the climate crisis, interrupted last summer due to tensions between the two countries around Taiwan.
Work will resume around “transnational challenges”, explained the White House, citing climate change as the first of them. Beijing mentioned “unprecedented challenges” facing the planet: “The world expects China and the United States to properly manage our relationship.”
On the war in Ukraine
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have agreed on one point about the war in Ukraine, according to the White House: the refusal of any recourse to nuclear weapons. They “reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won”, according to Washington. More vaguely, China said to itself “on the side of peace” and again called for negotiations.
On the North Korean nuclear program
About North Korea, Joe Biden said to himself “confident” than China “don’t look for an escalation” from its ally, whose missile fire raises fears of a nuclear test. During a press conference after their meeting, Joe Biden assured that he had asked his Chinese counterpart to signify “clearly” Pyongyang not to carry out a nuclear test, otherwise Washington would have to take measures “defensive”. He urged Xi Jinping to encourage North Korea to show up “responsible”.
On the situation in Taiwan
“The issue of Taiwan is at the very core of China’s fundamental interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line not to be crossed in China-US relations.”Xi Jinping told Joe Biden, according to the Xinhua news agency.
“I don’t think there is an imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan”declared the American leader in front of the press. “He made it clear that he wanted a peaceful resolution” of this dispute, he added. “I’m convinced he understood very well what I was saying, and I understood what he was saying.”