President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today held a Summit with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Woodside, California. The two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral and global issues including areas of potential cooperation and exchanged views on areas of difference.
President Biden emphasized that the United States and China are in competition, noting that the United States would continue to invest in the sources of American strength at home and align with allies and partners around the world. He stressed that the United States would always stand up for its interests, its values, and its allies and partners. He reiterated that the world expects the United States and China to manage competition responsibly to prevent it from veering into conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War.
“Well, look, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours,” Biden told CNN’s MJ Lee. “Anyway, we made progress.”
The remark is likely to upset Beijing, which responded furiously over the summer when the president made a similar comment.
In a significant breakthrough, the two governments plan to resume military contacts that China severed after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Biden and Xi came into the talks looking to smooth over a rocky period in relations that took a turn for the worse after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon transited the United States and was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet in February.
The White House said Biden raised areas where Washington has concerns, including detained U.S. citizens, human rights in Xi njiang, Tibet and Hong Kong and Beijing’s aggressive activities in the South China Sea.
"Just talking, just being blunt with one another so there’s no misunderstanding," Biden said.
The leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco, where officials and heads of state of other leading economies are also meeting this week.
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday after the talks that the U.S. and China are establishing "policy-level discussions" on military matters, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be meeting with his counterpart once China names a new defense minister. Senior military commanders, including the commander of the U.S. Pacific forces in Hawaii, will engage with his Chinese counterparts, the official said.
"I value our conversation, because I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication,” Biden said.
Xi spoke next. Through an interpreter, he said the two countries have the most important bilateral relationship in the world.
"For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option," Xi said. "It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflicts and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides."
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