Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday that he is ready to work with the incoming administration set to begin in January under Donald Trump but only if it does not treat China as an enemy.
In their final meeting in Peru, Xi stressed that for the bilateral relationship to move forward, in spite of its ups and downs in recent years, the two countries should treat each other as partners and friends.
“But if we take each other as a rival or adversary, pursue vicious competition, and seek to hurt each other, we would roil the relationship or even set it back,” Xi told Biden in his opening remarks, seemingly intended for Trump, at a hotel in Lima.
Noting that China’s goal of seeking a stable and healthy relationship with the United States remains intact, Xi said he is “ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences.”
Without naming Trump, he cautioned that the two countries should “make the wise choice” and “keep exploring the right way.”
The meeting came with Biden preparing to hand over the reins of power to the former president, who is set to return to the White House after a decisive win in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
While Beijing and other capitals brace for the possibility of a more confrontational approach to foreign affairs by Washington during Trump’s second term, Xi and Biden agreed that the relationship of the world’s two largest economies is highly consequential and matters to the whole world.
Biden said maintaining lines of communication between Washington and Beijing is needed, despite differences over a host of issues, to prevent conflict.
“I’m very proud of the progress we both made together,” Biden said, referring to some of the achievements made with Xi over the last nearly four years, such as reopening military-to-military communication at multiple levels.
“We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank,” he said.
The first in-person meeting between Biden and Xi in a year took place on the sidelines of this year’s summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Trump has promised to take a firmer stand against China, including imposing 60 percent tariffs on goods from the Asian power, the world’s second-largest economy after the United States.
In their third face-to-face talks since Biden took office in 2021, they took stock of efforts during his tenure to “responsibly manage” the intense competition between the two countries.
They also agreed on the need to maintain human control and not rely on artificial intelligence in deciding on the use of nuclear weapons, according to the White House.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters it was the first time that the United States and China had made such a statement.
“It’s an important statement about the intersection of artificial intelligence and nuclear doctrine,” Sullivan said.
During their previous talks near San Francisco, also held in conjunction with an APEC summit, the presidents agreed to reopen military-to-military lines of communication at several levels to prevent miscalculation from veering into confrontation or conflict.
They also agreed to advance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including controlling risks associated with artificial intelligence and curbing the flow of illicit fentanyl.
In line with previous meetings between representatives of the two countries, Biden reiterated concern over outstanding issues, such as China’s increased military activities around Taiwan and its assertiveness in the South China Sea, according to the White House.
Sullivan said they had the chance “to go back and forth” on issues related to Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province.
China’s official news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Biden that the United States should make clear its opposition to Taiwan independence and support Beijing’s “peaceful reunification” process.
The White House said Biden also expressed “deep concern” over China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base, which is believed to have revitalized its military to continue fighting against Ukraine.
The issue of some 10,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia near the border with Ukraine was on the agenda as well, as Beijing has close ties with both Pyongyang and Moscow. The last meeting between Biden and Xi lasted about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
