Open in App
  • Local
  • Headlines
  • Election
  • Crime Map
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Real Estate
  • Newsletter
  • ABC News

    Biden speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping

    By Selina WangMolly NagleJustin Gomez,

    2024-04-02

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3nMQB7_0sD5Cela00

    President Joe Biden spoke on the phone Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first conversation since meeting last November in California.

    The two leaders were set to speak about climate change , the economic relationship between the U.S. and China as well as progress on artificial intelligence and countering illegal drug flow, such as fentanyl, according to a senior administration official.

    Officials downplayed expectations ahead of Tuesday's call, describing it as a "check in" amid the administration's efforts to "maintain regular open lines of communication to responsibly manage competition and prevent unintended consequences."

    Though the call between Biden and Xi Jinping lasted 105 minutes, an administration official told ABC News, longer than previous phone conversations between the two leaders.

    MORE: Biden-Xi summit: Modest outcomes, from fentanyl to pandas: ANALYSIS

    When Biden and Xi met in Woodside outside San Francisco last year , both men agreed to keep talking as they face global challenges. Their phone conversation on Tuesday, a senior administration official said, was about "finding a chance for the two leaders to talk through the tough issues."

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4LwHyb_0sD5Cela00
    Doug Mills/The New York Times, Pool via AP - PHOTO: In this Nov. 15, 2023, file photo, President Joe Biden greets China's President President Xi Jinping at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, Calif., on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference.

    The White House called the conversation "candid and constructive."

    "They reviewed and encouraged progress on key issues discussed at the Woodside Summit, including counternarcotics cooperation, ongoing military-to-military communication, talks to address AI-related risks, and continuing efforts on climate change and people-to-people exchanges," according to a readout of the phone call.

    Biden also emphasized "the importance of maintaining peace and stability" in Taiwan and raised concerns about China's support for Russia's military defense.

    MORE: Xi told Biden at summit that China plans to reunify with Taiwan

    On the domestic front, according to the White House, Biden talked with Xi about trade policies and other economic practices that "harm American workers and families."

    It was also announced Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to China on Wednesday for a week of bilateral meetings and other engagements. Her trip will focus on pressuring her Chinese counterparts on those trade practices as well as expanding cooperation between the U.S. and China against illicit finance and progressing work on shared priorities like financial stability and addressing climate change, according to a senior Treasury official.

    "The two leaders welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship through high-level diplomacy and working-level consultations in the weeks and months ahead, including during upcoming visits by Secretary Yellen and Secretary Blinken," the White House said.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=34yicP_0sD5Cela00
    @Potus/X - PHOTO: President Joe Biden is shown during a phone conversation with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, on April 2, 2024, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, D.C.

    China has economic reasons to engage more with the U.S. as it's economy is in a downturn and Xi wants to restore confidence in its market and attract more foreign investment. Just last week, the Chinese president met with a delegation of American CEOs in Beijing.

    The readouts of Tuesday's call from both countries underscored the litany of areas where the two leaders still fundamentally disagree. Beijing believes that Biden's policies are "suppressing" China and its economy.

    One of Xi's biggest concerns is around U.S. exports of advanced chips. Notably, the Chinese readout accuses the U.S. of "suppressing China's high-tech development" and threatens that "we will not stand idly by" if the U.S. continues to do so.

    The Biden administration has described its economic restrictions on China as a "small yard, high fence" strategy. That means they place strict curbs on a few areas that have important military applications, while keeping regular economic relations in other areas.

    ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

    Comments / 391
    Add a Comment
    Jefferson
    04-05
    the united state is being ruled by a bigger evil power than the president in no clear mind would someone let this incompetent idiot be a president of a country that's why I don't vote because In the end they chose who ever they want and make us believe is us the people that have a saying
    me
    04-05
    Oh xi my bro
    View all comments
    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
    Local News newsLocal News

    Comments / 0