At the beginning of the meeting at an estate near San Francisco, US President Joe Biden called on his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to responsibly develop mutual relations, and the latter responded that their relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world that affect global security and the economy.
Competition between the two nations should not escalate into conflict, Biden said. And as for current tensions, the two presidents should be available for each other by phone, whenever the need arises. They agreed, Biden said after the meeting, "to answer when the other calls directly and to listen to each other immediately."
And Xi said that Biden and he bear the greatest responsibility for their peoples, the world and history.
When they agreed on their own craft and size, they got down to business.
Military communication
Biden and Xi agreed on Wednesday that their countries will continue communication at the level of the two militaries and cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking, and this is a significant result of their first direct meeting in the past year, Voice of America reports.
Xi was last in America in 2017, and he met with Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit a year ago.
The two leaders talked for about four hours, covering a number of sensitive topics that contributed to the cooling of US-China relations. Biden said that he and Xi agreed to resume military contacts that China broke off when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
"We're going back to direct, open, clear communications on a direct basis," Biden said.
He demanded that the two countries formalize a military dialogue, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with his new Chinese counterpart once that person is appointed, a senior US official said.
In the past year, the American and Chinese armies have found themselves in several tense situations on the verge of conflict.
Drugs and Taiwan
Biden and Xi also agreed that China would stop exporting chemicals used in the production of the opiate fentanyl, which is the leading cause of drug overdoses in the US. "It will save lives," Biden said, adding that he appreciated Xi's "commitment" to solving the problem.
The Chinese president sought to reassure Biden about China's intentions toward democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, saying China has no plans to take military action against Taiwan in the coming years, but described the conditions under which force would be used, a US official said. .
"The United States should stop arming Taiwan and support the peaceful reunification of China," Xi said, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry. Biden then said that the US "believes in the status quo" and called on China to respect the election process in Taiwan.
JH/VOA/Spiegel
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