President Joe Biden, Jr. met on November 14th with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Bali, Indonesia. The two leaders spoke candidly about their respective priorities and intentions on a number of issues.
President Biden explained that the United States will continue to compete vigorously with the PRC, including by investing in sources of strength at home and aligning efforts with allies and partners around the world. He reiterated that this competition should not escalate into conflict, stressing that the United States and China should manage the competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication. The two leaders discussed the importance of developing principles that further these goals, and charged their teams to further explore them.
President Biden stressed that the United States and China must work together to address transnational challenges – such as climate change, global macroeconomic stability, including debt relief, health security and global food security – because that is what he hopes the international community.
The two leaders agreed to empower top-level officials to maintain communication and further constructive efforts on these and other issues. They welcomed ongoing efforts to address specific issues in US-China bilateral relations, and encouraged further progress on these existing mechanisms, including through joint working groups. They also noted the importance of ties between the peoples of the United States and the PRC.
President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s practices in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and about human rights in general. Regarding Taiwan, he elaborated that our one-China policy has not changed, that the United States opposes any unilateral change of the status quo by either party, and that the world has an interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
President Xi Jinping arrived in Bali to attend the 17th G20 Summit
He raised the United States’ objections to the PRC’s increasingly aggressive and coercive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region, and endanger global prosperity. President Biden also raised his concerns about China’s non-trade economic practices, which hurt American workers and families, and workers and families around the world. He re-emphasized that it is a priority for us to resolve the cases of US citizens wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.
The two leaders exchanged views on the main regional and global challenges. President Biden raised Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and Russia’s irresponsible threats of nuclear use. President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that nuclear war must never be fought and can never be won, and underlined their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. President Biden also raised concerns about the DPRK’s provocative behavior, noted that all members of the international community have an interest in encouraging the DPRK to act responsibly, and underscored America’s strong commitment to defending our allies. of the Indo-Pacific.
The two leaders agreed that Secretary of State Blinken will visit China to follow up on their discussions.
