Biden, Xi focus on avoiding confrontation in second cellphone name of latest U.S. administration

BEIJING — Chinese language President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke for the primary time since February on Friday.

It marked the second name between the leaders since Biden took workplace in January, as tensions between the world’s two largest economies simmer.

“President Biden underscored america’ enduring curiosity in peace, stability, and prosperity within the Indo-Pacific and the world and the 2 leaders mentioned the duty of each nations to make sure competitors doesn’t veer into battle,” the White Home mentioned in a readout of the decision launched Friday morning.

Chinese language state media confirmed the decision shortly afterwards.

Xi mentioned within the report that, “on the idea of respecting one another’s core issues and correctly managing variations,” related departments of the 2 international locations can have interaction for cooperation on local weather, Covid prevention, financial restoration and main worldwide and regional points.

He mentioned if there’s “confrontation” between China and the U.S., “each international locations and the world will endure,” whereas all will profit if the 2 nations work collectively. That is based on a CNBC translation of the Chinese language textual content.

The state media report additionally included some description of Biden’s feedback, together with a comment that: “The 2 international locations haven’t any motive to fall into battle on account of competitors.”

The 2 leaders final spoke simply earlier than the Lunar New Yr — China’s most necessary vacation — in February in a name Biden mentioned lasted two hours.

Friday’s name, which lasted for about 90 minutes, mentioned a spread of transnational points and touched on financial points, though that facet of U.S.-China coverage stays beneath overview, Reuters reported, citing a senior U.S. administration official. The 2 leaders are capable of be candid and trustworthy with one another with out lecturing, the official mentioned.

The U.S. focus should be on rallying companions and allies, the official mentioned within the report.

Biden’s technique for coping with China has centered on working with conventional U.S. allies. The previous Trump administration had taken a extra singlehanded strategy of making use of tariffs and sanctions on China in an effort to handle longstanding enterprise complaints of unequal market entry and compelled know-how switch.

The geopolitical panorama has grown extra complicated this summer season with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban in a area that shares a border with China.

Within the final a number of months, each China and the U.S. have elevated efforts to construct up political and financial ties with regional companions.

On Thursday, Xi mentioned at a digital assembly of the 5 BRICS international locations — China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and India — that Beijing would chair the BRICS summit subsequent 12 months and seemed ahead to working extra with member nations, based on state media.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired this 12 months’s assembly.

This fall, India is ready to affix the U.S., Japan and Australia for an in-person assembly of the so-called Quad leaders. Experiences say the gathering might happen as early as this month.