Xi, Biden hold ‘virtual’ meeting amid rising tension

Relations between China and the United States have deteriorated over issues including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang.

US President Joe Biden called for better and more “honest” communication between China and the US during a virtual call with Chinese President Xi Jinping where both leaders played up their close relationship.

The two leaders were holding discussions over a video conference at a time when the two countries’ relationship is deteriorating over issues including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijing’s treatment of the predominantly Muslim Uighurs in its far western region of Xinjiang.

In his opening remarks ahead of the call on Monday night in the US, Biden acknowledged that competition between the US and China was expected but said it was his and Xi’s personal responsibility as leaders to ensure that rivalry did not veer into conflict, according to a White House transcript.

“It seems to me we need to establish some common-sense guardrails, to be clear and honest where we disagree and work together where our interests intersect, especially on vital global issues like climate change,” Biden said.

“And I think it’s very important, as I’ve told other world leaders when they ask about our relationship, is that we have always communicated with one another — with one another very honestly and candidly,” he also said. “We never walk away wondering what the other man is thinking.”

Biden’s comments contrast with the early days of his administration when a meeting in March between the top US and Chinese officials turned into an acrimonious confrontation as Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat and a member of the Politburo, told Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to meddle in China’s internal affairs.

Since then, the Biden administration and Beijing have traded barbs over sensitive topics, including recent Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone. China claims the island, a self-ruled democracy of more than 23 million people, as its own, while the US views it as a key ally in its Indo-Pacific defense strategy.

During the vcall with Xi, Biden said the US opposes “unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to a White House statement.