The leaders of the world’s two largest economies met, for the first time in a year, on Wednesday in connection with the intercontinental cooperation organization Apec’s meeting on the American West Coast.
There has been “real progress,” Joe Biden said of the talks, which ended with a joint walk in the garden.
During the meeting, the two leaders agreed, among other things, that they should talk to each other as soon as there is a crisis between the countries.
– We will continue to maintain and strive for a high degree of diplomacy to keep the lines of communication open, including between President Xi and me, Joe Biden said at a joint press conference.
He and I agreed that we can both pick up the phone and call each other directly and be heard.
Xi Jinping also seemed positive about the talks:
– Planet Earth is big enough for both countries to succeed, he said.
Disagree about Taiwan
Among other things, they agreed that the countries should resume communication between the respective militaries at the highest level, according to Biden.
A US spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said after Xi and Biden’s meeting that the agreement on military communications means US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin can meet with his Chinese counterpart as soon as one is named. China’s former defense minister Li Shangfu lost his job when Beijing carried out a major reshuffle of the country’s top echelons in October.
Despite claims of progress in the talks, the two leaders failed to come close to each other on the burning issue of Taiwan. China’s president urged his US counterpart to stop arming the island, saying the reunification China seeks with Taiwan is “unstoppable”.
Extremely important
However, Xi and Biden agreed, as was already known, that China will crack down on manufacturers and stop the export to the United States of both fentanyl and the substances required to manufacture the drug.
Biden and Xi also agreed, according to New China, to meet to hold talks on artificial intelligence (AI).
The two leaders had not met since they held talks in Bali in November 2022. However, the relationship between the countries plummeted after the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February this year.
Since then, there has been feverish diplomatic activity in both Washington and Beijing to bring about a face-to-face meeting between the presidents.
“I appreciate the conversation I had today with President Xi because I think it is extremely important that we understand each other clearly and clearly between leaders,” US President Joe Biden wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after Wednesday’s meeting.