Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) in the Great Hall of the People of Beijing on December 4, 2013.
Lintao Zhang | Reuters
BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden spoke on Friday for the first time since February.
It marked the second call among leaders since Biden took office in January, as tensions between the world’s two largest economies eased.
“President Biden stressed the enduring U.S. interest in peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world, and the two leaders discussed the responsibility of both nations to ensure that competition does not become in conflict, “the White House said in a reading of the call released Friday morning.
Chinese state media confirmed the call shortly after.
Xi said in the report that, “on the basis of respecting each other’s basic concerns and properly managing differences,” the relevant departments of the two countries can participate in cooperation on climate prevention, economic recovery and major issues. international and regional.
He said if there is “confrontation” between China and the United States, “the two countries and the world will suffer,” while all will benefit if the two nations work together. According to a translation of the Chinese text from CNBC.
The state media report also included a description of Biden’s comments, including a remark that: “The two countries have no reason to conflict as a result of competition.”
The two leaders last spoke just before Lunar New Year, China’s most important holiday, in February, in a call that Biden said lasted two hours.
Friday’s call, which lasted about 90 minutes, discussed a number of transnational issues and addressed economic issues, although this aspect of US-China policy remains under review, Reuters reported, citing a high US administration official. The two leaders can be sincere and honest with each other without lectures, the official said.
The U.S. focus should be on focusing on partners and allies, the official said in the report.
Both countries are building regional alliances
Biden’s strategy for dealing with China has focused on working with traditional U.S. allies. The previous Trump administration had taken a simpler approach to enforcing tariffs and sanctions on China in an effort to address long-standing business complaints about unequal market access and forced technology transfer.
The geopolitical landscape has become more complex this summer with the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban in a region that shares a border with China.
In recent months, both China and the United States have intensified efforts to establish political and economic ties with regional partners.
On Thursday, Xi said at a virtual meeting of the five BRICS countries (China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and India) that Beijing would chair the BRICS summit next year and hoped to work more with member countries, according to the state media.
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, chaired this year’s meeting.
This fall, India will join the United States, Japan and Australia for a face-to-face meeting of so-called Quad leaders. According to reports, the meeting could take place as early as this month.