The presidents of China and the United States, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, respectively, have advocated on Monday during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali to promote and boost «cooperation» to avoid conflicts and address the various global challenges.
Biden, who admitted that Washington will continue to compete with Beijing in trade matters, pointed out that «this competitiveness must never overstep the limits and lead the parties to a conflict», as the White House informed in a statement.
The two leaders have also addressed the importance of «achieving the development of principles that will advance common goals» for the future. «China and the United States must work together to address transnational challenges such as climate change, macroeconomic stability, health security and food security,» the statement said.
The presidents agreed to promote communication between the parties despite the fact that Biden again warned of the human rights situation in areas such as Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet.
On the Taiwanese issue, Biden pointed out that the United States «opposes any change in the ‘status quo’ in the area» and recalled that the world expects «peace and stability» to be maintained in the Taiwan Strait. He also assured that he would «resolve the cases of those US citizens who have been unjustly detained on Chinese soil».
However, the parties reiterated their commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and stressed that «there must never be a nuclear war», while announcing that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will travel to China to continue the talks.
Xi, for his part, insisted on the importance of the two countries playing a «leadership role» at the global level and stressed that history «is the best textbook». «Let it act as a mirror and guide us into the future,» he said, as reported by CGTN.
The Chinese head of state said he is «looking forward to working with Biden to put China-U.S. relations on track and achieve healthy and stable growth that will benefit the two countries and the whole world».
«Great changes are taking place right now that have never been seen before,» he said, before asserting that «the world expects China and the United States to know how to act appropriately.» «We have to work together with other countries to achieve greater trust, stability and momentum for common development,» he said.
FIRST MEETING SINCE THEY TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE Earlier, the two leaders shook hands for the first time since they took the oath of office in the face of a meeting. Thus, the two have greeted each other and expressed their desire to maintain the imminent talks, according to information from the CNN television network. «I am committed to keeping the lines of communication open between us personally because our countries have an opportunity to address many issues,» Biden said in statements prior to the start of the meeting.
«As leaders of these two countries, we have a responsibility to demonstrate that China and the United States can manage their differences, prevent competitiveness from turning into conflict, and find ways to work together on global issues that require our cooperation,» he said.
For his part, the Chinese president stressed that the meeting «has attracted the attention of the world» and emphasized that both countries are in a situation in which «they must take care of their bilateral relations».
«As leaders of major powers, it is necessary to follow the right course of China-U.S. relations. We need to find the right direction to develop our relations and elevate our bond,» he said.
In this sense, he stressed that the «world expects us to manage this relationship well (…) We have to work to foster hope for the establishment of peace, confidence in global stability and greater common development».
The Foreign Ministry of the Asian giant has pointed out that Beijing seeks «to reach a form of coexistence acceptable to the parties while defending its own sovereignty, security and interests», as reported by the ‘South China Morning Post’ newspaper.
The meeting comes three months after the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, made a controversial visit to Taiwan, an issue that has fueled controversy and encouraged military maneuvers by China in the area.
