US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shook hands on Wednesday and vowed to ease tensions by meeting for the first time in a year at a summit in California.
Biden smiled and greeted Xi Jinping after the Chinese leader stepped out of a black limousine at the scenic Filoli estate in the California foothills near San Francisco, before the two leaders shook hands.
The two leaders then entered the building for closed-door talks on issues such as Taiwan, sanctions and trade that have strained relations between the world’s largest economies.
Biden began his intervention by stating that tensions “should not lead to conflict.”
Xi responded by stating that “turning our backs on each other is not an option” for the major powers.
The US president told his Chinese counterpart that while they do not always agree, he appreciates their “frank”, “direct” and “useful” conversations.
“We have not always seen eye to eye, which is no surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been frank, direct and helpful,” Biden said at the start of his meeting with Xi in San Francisco, emphasizing the fact that there is direct contact between the two powers.
#UPDATE Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who meets with US President Joe Biden for the first time in a year, says “turning our backs on each other is not an option” for the United States and China.
Biden said on behalf of his party that tensions ‘should not come into conflict’ pic.twitter.com/j1moZEkEoQ– AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 15, 2023
Biden is expected to give a press conference on the meeting with Xi Jinping later in the evening, around 12:15 a.m., on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, the White House said.
The meeting is the first in a year between the two leaders, following the meeting they held for about three hours in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Source: DN
