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Bloomberg
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to a series of goodwill gestures intended to improve ties between their countries after the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the US and China since the pandemic began.
The two men met for about three hours on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, greeting each other with a handshake and conciliatory remarks in which they both called for calming tensions.
“Good to see you,†Biden said to Xi before they joined US and Chinese officials. The two sides sat at long conference tables with a display of flowers between them.
The White House said in a statement afterward that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to China, in a sign of a thaw. The US will work with China to organize a visit tentatively planned for early next year, according to a senior State Department official.
The countries will also resume talks between senior officials on issues including climate change, economic stability and debt relief, and health and food security, according to the White House and a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Biden said Xi was “direct and straightforward†in their meeting, and — in another sign of progress in the relationship — declared that there was no “imminent†threat that China will invade Taiwan, the self-governed island that’s become the biggest flashpoint between Beijing and Washington.
“I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War,†Biden said at a news conference at his hotel in Bali.
In another key point of agreement between them, Biden and Xi said that “a nuclear war should never be fought†and that they oppose “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,†according to the White House statement. Xi and the Chinese government have been reticent to publicly criticize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.