Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden for the last time on Saturday, but already looked to President-elect Donald Trump and his “America First” policies and said Beijing was “ready to work with a new US administration “.
During their talks on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, Xi warned that a stable relationship between China and the US is crucial not only for the two nations but also for the “future and destiny of humanity.”
“Make the wise choice,” he warned. “Continue to look for the right way for two great countries to get along well together.”
Without mentioning Trump's name, Xi appeared to express concern that the new president's protectionist rhetoric on the campaign trail could plunge U.S.-China relations into crisis.
“China stands able to work with a brand new U.S. administration to keep up communications, expand cooperation and manage differences, in order to pursue a gradual transition of China-U.S. relations for the advantage of the 2 peoples,” Xi said through an interpreter .
Xi, firmly entrenched at the top of China's political hierarchy, spoke powerful words in his brief remarks to reporters. Biden, who marks more than 50 years of public service, spoke in broader brushstrokes about where relations between the two countries have headed. He thought not only of the last four years, but also of the decades that the two of them had known each other.
“We didn’t always agree, but our conversations were always frank and always candid. “We never kidded each other,” Biden said. “These discussions prevent misjudgments and ensure that competition between our two countries does not come into conflict.”
Biden was expected to press Xi to dissuade North Korea from further increasing its support for Russia's war against Ukraine. The executives, surrounded by top employees, gathered around a long rectangle of tables in a sprawling conference room at the Defines Hotel and Conference Center in Lima.
China “hosted” the meeting this year after Xi and Biden met a year ago on the sidelines of APEC in Northern California, a meeting hosted by the US. They had a lot to discuss, including China's indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology, etc. Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own.
There is much uncertainty about what lies ahead in U.S.-China relations under Trump, who promised during the campaign to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Many American companies, including Nike and eyewear dealers Warby Parkerhave diversified their sourcing outside of China. Shoe brand Steve Madden said it plans to reduce imports from China by up to 45% next year.
In a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Xi urged the US and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era. Xi spoke to Biden in front of the camera on Saturday – but it was unmistakable that his message was aimed at Trump.
“In a significant, prosperous scientific and technological revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is an answer,” Xi said. “Only mutual, beneficial cooperation can lead to common development. 'Small yard, high fence' is not what a big country should strive for.”
After being greeted by Xi, Biden ignored shouted questions from reporters about his concerns concerning the latest Trump administration and North Korea. The leaders also didn’t hire reporters after they made transient comments initially of the meeting.
Biden administration officials would advise the Trump team that managing intense competition with Beijing will likely be the largest foreign policy challenge they’ll face, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Biden views his relationship with Xi as probably the most consequential on the international stage and has gone to great lengths to cultivate it. The two first met while traveling within the United States and China when each were vice presidents. Both said the interactions left an enduring impression.
“For over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between,” Biden said. “We have been working on these issues for a long time.”
But there have been difficult moments during the last 4 years.
The FBI this week revealed latest details of a federal investigation into the Chinese government's efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks. Initial findings have revealed a “wide-ranging and significant” cyber espionage campaign geared toward stealing information from Americans working in government and politics.
U.S. intelligence officials also imagine China has ramped up sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technologies that Moscow uses to make missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weapons for the war against Ukraine .
And tensions rose last yr after Biden ordered the downing of a Chinese spy balloon that was transiting the United States.
Biden expects Xi to extend Chinese engagement to forestall further escalation of an already dangerous situation with North Korea.
Biden, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yul and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's decision to send 1000’s of soldiers to assist Moscow repel Ukrainian forces which have seized territory within the Russian border region of Kursk .
Biden called it a “dangerous and destabilizing collaboration.”
White House officials have expressed frustration that Beijing, which handles most of North Korea's trade, just isn’t doing more to contain Pyongyang.
According to US and South Korean intelligence officials, the North Koreans have also supplied Russia with artillery and other ammunition. And the United States, Japan and South Korea have expressed concern about Pyongyang's increased ballistic missile testing.
Kim ordered test exercises ahead of this month's U.S. election and claims to have made progress in efforts to construct attack capability on the U.S. mainland.
Xi and Biden began their day on the leaders' retreat on the APEC summit and attended a photograph during which all of them wore scarves manufactured from vicuña wool, a symbolic animal of Peru. It is customary for the leaders of those gatherings to be presented with a present – often traditional clothing of the host country – which they will wear for the photo.
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