President Joe Biden met with Chinese language President Xi Jinping face-to-face Saturday afternoon on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) convention in Lima, Peru — their final assembly of Biden’s presidency.
They started their assembly with a handshake. Throughout that second, a reporter within the room requested how the leaders would talk about North Korea to which Biden responded, “peacefully.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan had been on both aspect of the president because the assembly occurred.
President Joe Biden meets with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Xi spoke first, beginning off by saying that it was a “nice pleasure” to see Biden once more. He added that the U.S.-Chinese language relationship has “gone by way of ups-and-downs,” however indicated that over the course of the final 4 years it has stabilized.
Xi added that it is time to take a look at the previous however to “deal with one another as companion and good friend,” quite than adversary. Xi added that stability of their relationship advantages the entire world and stated that they need to “make the sensible alternative” for the worldwide group.
Xi: China is ‘able to work’ with Trump
The Chinese language chief did not shrink back from discussing the altering political panorama and spoke in regards to the upcoming transition, with President-elect Donald Trump making ready to take the helm.
“China is able to work with the brand new U.S. administration, to take care of communication, increase the cooperation and handle variations, in order to drive ahead a gentle transition of the China-U.S relationship for the advantage of the 2 peoples,” Xi added.
President Joe Biden meets with Chinese language President Xi Jinping (2nd R) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024.
Saul Loeb/AFP through Getty Photographs
Biden recounted the 20 years lengthy relationship the leaders have had, a relationship that has spanned Biden’s time as vice chairman and as president.
“We have not at all times agreed, however our dialog has at all times been candid and at all times been frank,” Biden stated. “We now have by no means kidded each other. We have been degree with each other. I believe that is very important.”
“These conversations stop miscalculations, and so they make sure the competitors between our two nations won’t veer into battle, the competitors, not battle,” he added.
Biden additionally hit on the factors that senior administration officers previewed as main subjects of dialog: cooperation on AI and joint counter-narcotics efforts. Biden famous that overdose deaths within the U.S. are declining for the primary time in a decade.
A reporter within the room requested Biden whether or not he has any issues in regards to the relationship below Trump, however he didn’t reply. The identical reporter requested Xi whether or not he had any issues about tariffs that Trump has referred to as for, however Xi didn’t reply.
AI and nuclear weapons — and Biden’s ‘deep concern’
A readout of the decision discusses a few of the subjects that Biden and Xi mentioned throughout the bilateral assembly. The leaders mentioned two areas the place they discovered cooperation: Synthetic intelligence security measures and countering narcotics.
They made a notable settlement on AI security: an affirmation for the necessity to “keep human management” over using nuclear weapons.
“The 2 leaders affirmed the necessity to keep human management over the choice to make use of nuclear weapons,” the readout from the White Home stated. “The 2 leaders additionally harassed the necessity to contemplate fastidiously the potential dangers and develop AI expertise within the navy discipline in a prudent and accountable method.”
However there have been a few areas the place the 2 leaders appeared to diverge in opinion — one of many main ones coping with North Korea’s latest deployment of troops to combat with Russia in opposition to Ukraine.
“President Biden condemned the deployment of hundreds of DPRK troops to Russia, a harmful growth of Russia’s illegal warfare in opposition to Ukraine with severe penalties for each European and Indo-Pacific peace and safety. He expressed deep concern over the PRC’s continued help for Russia’s protection industrial base,” the readout stated.
Cross-strait points additionally got here up, with Biden calling “for an finish to destabilizing PRC navy exercise round Taiwan.”
Biden additionally talked about the necessity to “resolve the instances of Americans who’re unjustly detained or topic to exit bans in China,” in line with the readout.
