“Make the wise choice,” he urged. “Continued exploration of the right way for two great nations to get along with each other.”
Without referring to Trump by name, Xi managed to convey a message that might send the incoming president’s protectionist rhetoric on the campaign trail into another valley for the U.S.-China relationship.
“China is prepared to cooperate with a new U.S. administration to maintain dialogue, expand cooperation and address differences in a way to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship to the benefit of both peoples, Xi said through an interpreter.
Xi, ensconced at the pinnacle of the People’s Republic of China’s political pantheon, spoke forcefully in his brief remarks before reporters. Biden, ending more than 50 years of public service, spoke in broader brushstrokes about where the relationship between the two countries has gone.
He reflected not just on the past four years but on the decades the two have known each other.
“We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. We’ve never kidded one another,” Biden said. “These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict.”
Biden pressed Xi to persuade North Korea not to further deepen its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine. The two leaders and a cluster of top aides gathered around a long rectangle of tables in an expansive conference room at a Lima hotel.
They had much to discuss, including China’s indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own. On artificial intelligence, the two agreed on the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons and more broadly improve safety and international cooperation of the rapidly expanding technology.
There is much confusion about what the future holds for the U.S.-China relationship with Trump, who campaigned on the promise of imposing 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Several American companies- such as Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker-have already began to diversify their sourcing away from China. Shoe manufacturer Steve Madden claims that it will reduce imports from China by 45% in the following year.
As Trump declared victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Xi called for the United States and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era. Speaking from behind cameras Saturday, Xi spoke to Biden-but it was unmistakable that his message was meant for Trump.
“In a major flourishing sci-tech revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution,” Xi said. “Only mutual, beneficial cooperation can lead to common development. ‘Small yard, high fence’ is not what a major country should pursue.”
Biden administration officials said they would counsel the Trump team that managing the intense competition with Beijing will likely be the biggest foreign policy challenge they will face.
On Saturday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan added this context to what Biden said to Xi: “That these next two months are a time of transition, and the president would like to be able to pass off the U.S.-China relationship in stable terms to the new administration.”.
He has considered his relationship with Xi as one of the most significant on the world stage and has invested a lot of effort in constructing it. The two first knew each other through travels across the United States and China when both were vice presidents, a relationship that both described as profoundly memorable. They last met a year ago on the sidelines of APEC in Northern California.
BIDEN SET TO MEET CHINA’S XI DURING LATIN AMERICA SUMMITS
President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting, Saturday, in Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
