Xi Jinping and Joe Biden agree to resume military contacts between the US and China
From now on, the leaders of the two countries can "call each other directly to be heard immediately"
China intends to be friends with the United States and does not want to fight with anyone, Chinese President Xi Jinping said after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. He made the remarks during a dinner with CEOs of leading American companies.
The main topic of the talks between the two leaders was the reduction of tension to avoid an armed clash.
Source. Bloomberg reports.
As a result of the meeting, Biden and Xi agreed to resume direct contacts between the militaries of the two countries, which were interrupted by Beijing more than a year ago after the visit of then Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
In addition, "Xi and I have agreed that each of us can call the other directly to be heard immediately," Biden said at the press conference:
Miscalculations on either side can cause real problems with a country like China, and with any other major country.
China "never opposes the United States" and "has no intention of challenging or undercutting it," Xi assured entrepreneurs, trying to convince them of the prospects for continued economic cooperation.
Foreign direct investment in China has fallen to the level of 1998, amounting to only $4.9 billion in the second quarter (from late 2020 to early 2022, it reached $80-100 billion per quarter), foreign companies are moving their businesses to friendlier and cheaper production facilities in the country, and the growth rate of the Chinese economy is falling due to the strengthening role of the state and the worst crisis in the real estate market.
"No matter what level of development China reaches, it will never seek hegemony or expansion and will not impose its will on others," Xi convinced the entrepreneurs, "China is not trying to establish spheres of influence and will not wage a cold or hot war with anyone.
The possibility of China's invasion of Taiwan is one of the main concerns of Washington. Reducing tensions around it has become critically important for the White House, which already has to deal with two armed conflicts – in Ukraine and Israel. "We can't put out all the fires in the world at the same time," a presidential administration official told The Washington Post.
Biden called the past talks "one of the most constructive and productive" he has had with Xi.
On the eve of the meeting between the two leaders in San Francisco, the Chinese media, which has been continuously criticizing the United States for seeking to curb China's development, has noticeably softened its tone. State-run publications began to call for closer ties between the world's two largest economies, especially in the areas of student exchange and travel.
The Chinese side does not expect this meeting to be a turning point in US-China relations. However, it is a symbol of the easing of tensions between them.
Background. As reported the day before, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden at a historic estate south of San Francisco, where they held bilateral talks. Later, the Chinese leader attended the APEC summit.
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