Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping converse for first time since California summit | EUROtoday

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President Biden and Chinese premier Xi Jinping have spoken by telephone, their first phone dialog since 2022 and their first interplay because the two leaders met exterior San Francisco for a summit assembly in November 2023.

A White House readout of the dialog described it as “a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference” and mentioned the 2 leaders “reviewed and encouraged progress on key issues discussed at the Woodside Summit,” with Mr Biden taking the chance to emphasize “the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”.

“He raised concerns over the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security, and he emphasized the United States’ enduring commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the White House mentioned.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on plans for the phone name mentioned the dialog between Mr Biden and Mr Xi is a part of ongoing plans to “maintain regular open lines of communication to responsibly manage competition and prevent unintended conflict,” which each leaders agreed upon throughout their summit final yr.

The official additionally mentioned the decision was meant to construct on a number of conferences which Secretary of State Ant0ny Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have held in current months with the Chinese international minister, Wang Yi.

“We anticipate President Biden and President Xi will discuss the US China bilateral relationships the continued importance of strengthening lines of communication and managing competition responsibly, and a range of regional and global issues,” mentioned the official, who additionally careworn that the Biden administration’s “invest, align and compete” strategy to coping with China has not modified.

“Intense competition requires intense diplomacy to manage tensions, address misperceptions and prevent unintended conflict, and this call is one way to do that,” the official mentioned, including later that there are “areas of cooperation” the place US and Chinese pursuits align, akin to anti-narcotics work, “risk and safety issues” associated to Artificial Intelligence, and local weather change.

In addition, Mr Biden and Mr Xi had been anticipated to debate the significance of continued military-to-military communications between US forces and China’s People’s Liberation Army.

Those direct channels resumed after the 2 leaders met final November, following an extended interval of tensions that started after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. Military to army communications fully ceased following the US shootdown of a Chinese espionage balloon final February, however within the months because the summit they’ve resumed in any respect ranges.

In December, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown met along with his Chinese counterpart nearly, and in January US-China defence coverage coordination talks occurred.

The official mentioned military-to-military talks will proceed on the “operator level” this week with joint US-Chinese army maritime consultative settlement conferences happening in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“The goal of that is really to talk at the operator level about how to avoid and better understand the actions of the other party,” the official mentioned, including that extra talks on the “minister-secretary level” in addition to talks “between theatre commanders” are set to happen “in the coming months”.

“All of these interactions from the operator up to the very top [Secretary of Defence] level are important to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations. President Biden has made clear that this ‘mil-mil’ communication is critical at all times, but especially during times of heightened tensions,” the official added.

In addition, the official mentioned Mr Biden deliberate to make use of the decision with Mr Xi to lift American considerations over China’s continued help for Russia’s struggle on Ukraine.in addition to ”considerations relating to the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy, and PRC human rights abuses, together with in Xinjiang”.