US President Joe Biden appeared to be heading for a sought-after reset in relations with China on Monday as he met with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Statements and comments from both sides hailed an “open and honest” conversation between the two men, the first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Biden’s election in late 2020. While White House officials had repeatedly downplayed expectations in the pre-election period, there were However, tangible results: an agreement to restart climate talks and establish new guidelines for managing the relationship in the future, including joint working groups on various issues of confrontation. “I’m not suggesting it’s a quagmire,” Mr. Biden told reporters late Monday night, adding that the two sides continued to have disagreements, “but I don’t think there’s any need to worry about … a new Cold War.” “We will compete strongly, but I’m not looking for a clash,” he said. A Chinese reading of the meeting said Mr Xi told Biden that “the current situation facing China-US relations is not in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, nor does it meet the expectations of the international community. “ He added that the two sides should put relations back “on the path of healthy and stable development.” In televised remarks before their closed-door meeting, both men acknowledged the eyes of the world were on them, with Mr Biden saying “as leaders of our two nations, we share the responsibility, in my view , to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming a near-conflict, and find ways to work together on pressing global issues that require our mutual cooperation.” Trudeau arrives at G20 summit aiming to further isolate Russia Chief among these is addressing climate catastrophe. Mr Biden’s chief environment envoy, John Kerry, had made some progress with China on the issue before Beijing broke off talks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August. Late last week, Mr. Biden joined other world leaders in Egypt for COP 27, and the Chinese statement from Monday said the two sides “agreed to work together to promote the success” of that summit. Ahead of their meeting, Mr Biden said he would use the time with his Chinese counterpart to “figure out where the red lines are” in their two countries’ relations. Chief among them remains the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. Tensions in Taiwan have soared dangerously since Ms Pelosi’s visit, with a furious Beijing launching massive military exercises and flying flights around Taiwan’s airspace. But even on that issue, there appeared to be a sign of de-escalation — if not progress — since Monday’s summit. Mr Biden, who has in the past angered the Chinese by appearing to promise US military support for Taiwan in the event of an invasion, said he stressed to Mr Xi that Washington’s policy “has not changed”. “We are opposed to unilateral changes to the status quo by both sides and are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. Mr Biden also dismissed speculation that a Chinese military action could happen in the near future, saying he did not believe “there is an imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan”. According to the Chinese reading, Mr Xi stressed that Taiwan is the “first insurmountable red line of China-US relations”, but added that he hopes and strives “to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”. Ahead of Monday’s summit, Taiwanese officials also hailed greater dialogue between the US and China. Speaking to Voice of America, the US state broadcaster, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said open lines of communication between Washington and Beijing would be “very helpful for regional peace”. “There has been no official contact between Taiwan and China for some time,” he added. “If the United States is able to talk to the Chinese side about some of the concerns of the Taiwanese side, that will be very helpful for Taiwan as well.” The Chinese account did not mention several other contentious issues that the White House said Mr. Biden raised with Mr. Xi, including crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and on “human rights more broadly.” He did, however, acknowledge a discussion about Ukraine, which Mr. Xi said he was very concerned about. While Beijing has not condemned Moscow’s actions, Mr Xi appeared to continue a gradual reversal of his earlier tacit support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, repeating calls for peace and condemning threats to use nuclear weapons. A senior US official, speaking to reporters ahead of the Biden-Xi meeting, said that during a summit in Cambodia over the weekend, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang “spoke quite extensively about China’s policy towards Ukraine”. Mr. Lee, who is due to retire in March, “has placed a clear emphasis on sovereignty, on the irresponsibility of nuclear threats, on the need to ensure that nuclear weapons are not used in the way that some have suggested,” the official said, speaking under the condition of anonymity. The US official said there is “definitely some discomfort in Beijing about what we’ve seen in terms of reckless rhetoric and activity on the part of Russia,” despite formal cooperation with Moscow. “China is probably surprised and even a little embarrassed by the conduct of Russian military operations.” Mr. Putin is not attending the G20 in person, an absence that Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said “speaks for itself.” In bilateral meetings with the leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday, Mr Biden praised both countries for their help in Ukraine, and the US leader urged Mr Xi to do the same. Mr Xi met Mr Putin in Uzbekistan in September, the Chinese leader’s first major trip abroad since the start of the COVID pandemic. During that meeting, Mr. Putin acknowledged that China had “questions and concerns” about the war, but also praised Mr. Xi’s “balanced position” on Ukraine. “China’s relations with Russia are stable,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday. “China will continue to work with Russia to promote bilateral relations on a correct and stable path.” Arriving in Indonesia, both Mr Xi and Mr Biden had recent domestic successes: the US leader enjoyed a stronger-than-expected showing for his Democratic Party in midterm elections and Mr Xi secured an unprecedented third term as a leader at a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party last month. Mr. Biden said there was no indication that Mr. Xi was either more conciliatory or confrontational as a result of consolidating even more power. “I found him as he always was — direct and straightforward,” she said. “We were very blunt with each other about places where we disagreed or where we were unsure of each other’s position.” -With file from Reuters
