President Joe Biden sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the last of many meetings with the leader of the economic powerhouse, with Biden accidentally referencing an ‘alliance’ with the country’s top competitor.
‘We are the most important alliance – or the most important relationship in the entire world, and how we’re getting along together can impact the rest of the world,’ Biden said, quickly correcting himself after applying the friendly term to a key supporter of Russia who has been harassing U.S. allies in the South China sea and flooding the U.S. with exports.
But he restated his long-held view of using diplomacy to avoid problems.
‘And so our two countries can not let any of this competition veer into conflict,’ Biden said, reflecting on some of the many times the two leaders had met.
The Saturday afternoon meeting took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which is taking place in Lima, Peru. It lasted a little under two hours.
It was Xi who referenced the U.S. elections, as Biden once again dodged questions about President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to slap big tariffs on Chinese goods.
‘The United States has recently concluded its elections,’ Xi said at the top of their meeting that reporters were allowed to capture.
‘China’s goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China U.S. relationship remains unchanged,’ he said. ‘China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences, so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-US relationship for the benefit of the two peoples.’
President Joe Biden (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) during their Saturday afternoon meeting in Lima, Peru held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
The meeting was taking place on Xi’s turf – the Delfines Hotel & Convention Center, which is situated next door to the Chinese embassy in the exclusive San Isidro neighborhood of Lima.
The White House said that Biden was being forced to travel to Xi because there’s a ‘rotation for hosting duties each time the leaders meet.’
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan bristled when questioned about it. ‘We do this thing called my turn your turn and the last meeting the two of them had was in Woodside [California] in America,’ he told reporters after the meeting.
‘It’s highly sophisticated statecraft that I know is hard really to get your head around,’ he quipped.
But during their summit in Woodside, California, Biden didn’t have Xi come to his hotel.
And because the meeting was happening at the Chinese delegation’s hotel, U.S. officials and reporters were instructed to have their phones turned off for security reasons.
Ahead of the Xi meeting, the Taiwanese played up a brief encounter between Biden and their delegation member – former Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i.
The Taiwanese put out a photo of the two men shaking hands, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the backdrop and said Biden and Lin had a ‘lively’ exchange.
Lin ‘warmly invited President Biden to visit Taiwan at his convenience in the future.’
A spokesperson for the National Security Council downplayed the interaction, telling DailyMail.com ‘it was just a handshake in the plenary room.’
Things may have been a bit more tense when Biden and Xi discussed what diplomats call ‘Straits’ issues.
‘They had the chance to go back and forth on that,’ said Sullivan. China claims Taiwan is part of China, and the U.S. has pledged to defend it.
The White House touted one area of progress, that while measured, at least revealed a shared interest in avoiding some of the most apocalyptic scenarios of sci-fi movies between the two nuclear powers.
The two agreed ‘on the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons,’ said Sullivan, as part of a running discussion about A.I. issues.
ON CHINA’S TURF: Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) had President Joe Biden (left) meet him at the hotel where the Chinese delegation was staying to attend APEC this week in Lima, Peru. The White House said this was because it was China’s turn to determine a venue
The Taiwanese played up a brief encounter Friday between Taiwan’s APEC representative former Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i (left) and Prseident Joe Biden (right) ahead of Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
The White House didn’t express concern about the line of leaders going to Donald Trump’s door or cell phone. He called it a ‘pretty typical diplomatic practice’ and said there was ‘nothing untoward about that.’
Sullivan said there were no assurances that the incoming Trump administration would take its initiatives forwad.
‘It’s our job to do all that we can do set the administration up as effectively as possible, and they decide how to take things forward,’ he said.
The White House had announced other pull aside meetings Biden held Friday – first with the new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba – ahead of the trilateral meeting with Japan and South Korea – and then a similar pull aside with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol.
APEC is one of the few international conferences where both China and Taiwan – under the name Chinese Taipei – both attend, but due to China claiming that Taiwan is a territory the democratically governed island’s President Lai Ching-te is barred from participating.
The Chinese have acted angrily when U.S.-Taiwan relations look too cozy.
After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in 2022, China dispatched warships and military aircraft on all sides of Taiwan and fired ballistic missiles into nearby waters.
Earlier that year on a trip to Tokyo, Biden told reporters he would be willing to get involved militarily if China invaded Taiwan – drawing parallels between that threat and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yes,’ Biden said. ‘That’s a commitment we made,’ the president replied.
Biden reiterated that the United States agrees to the so-called ‘One China’ policy – that only the People’s Republic of China is ‘China,’ thus the U.S.’s diplomatic relationship with Taiwan is unofficial.
‘But the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not appropriate,’ Biden said. ‘It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.’
Additionally, Biden said: ‘My expectation is it will not happen, it will not be attempted.’
A White House official asked to clarify the comment responded: ‘As the President said, our policy has not changed. He reiterated our One China Policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.’
Biden was asked at the very end of a press conference, held at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace: ‘You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan, if it comes to that?’ – to which the president answered in the affirmative.
In response, China’s foreign ministry told Reuters that the U.S. should not defend Taiwan’s independence.
China blasted Biden’s comments, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressing ‘strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.’
‘China has no room for compromise or concessions on issues involving China’s core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ he said.
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