Biden, Xi focus on avoiding confrontation in second telephone name of recent 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 the USA’ 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 stated in a readout of the decision launched Friday morning.

Chinese language state media confirmed the decision shortly afterwards.

Xi stated 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 stated if there’s “confrontation” between China and the U.S., “each international locations and the world will undergo,” whereas all will profit if the 2 nations work collectively. That is in accordance with 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 cause to fall into battle because of competitors.”

The 2 leaders final spoke simply earlier than the Lunar New 12 months — China’s most necessary vacation — in February in a name Biden stated lasted two hours.

Friday’s name, which lasted for about 90 minutes, mentioned a variety of transnational points and touched on financial points, though that facet of U.S.-China coverage stays below assessment, Reuters reported, citing a senior U.S. administration official. The 2 leaders are in a position to be candid and sincere with one another with out lecturing, the official stated.

The U.S. focus have to be on rallying companions and allies, the official stated 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 expertise switch.

The geopolitical panorama has grown extra advanced 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 stated 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 appeared ahead to working extra with member nations, in accordance with 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. Stories say the gathering may happen as early as this month.