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President Xi Jinping told Joe Biden in his last meeting with his American counterpart that China is ready to work with the incoming administration of President Donald Trump to manage differences in turbulent US-China relations.
The presidents of China and the United States met on Saturday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima. In his opening remarks before the informal talks, President Xi said that although there had been “ups and downs” over the past four years, relations between the United States and China had generally remained “stable.”
“China stands ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, and manage differences . . . for the benefit of the two peoples,” Xi told Biden.
Biden said that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important “alliance” in the world, then corrected himself to say it was “the most important relationship.”
Mr. Biden reiterated one of his usual refrains from his meetings with Mr. Xi, adding: “Both countries cannot turn this competition into conflict.” . . I think in the last four years we have proven that it is possible to build this relationship. ”
Relations between the U.S. and China have plummeted over the past four years, reaching their lowest level in decades after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan in 2022 and a Chinese reconnaissance balloon flew over the U.S. last year. reached. Although relations have stabilized since then, the two superpowers remain at odds on many issues.
After the meeting, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the leaders had a “frank” exchange of views on cooperation. drug countermeasuresBut they also highlighted areas of significant disagreement, such as China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base.
Sullivan said Biden and Xi had reached an important agreement on “the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons,” marking the first time China has made such a commitment. .
“Today we created something meaningful,” Sullivan said. “This is not the end of the line, but it is the beginning of something that we hope can move forward.”
In a readout of the meeting, China’s Foreign Ministry said the leaders “stressed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.”
Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund, called the agreement “very important” and said “aggressive steps should be taken bilaterally to control dangerous security risks.” ” suggested the Chinese government’s recognition.
“This is also the first nuclear weapons agreement signed by the United States and China,” Glaser said. “Hopefully others will follow suit.”
The meeting in Lima will be the third time Biden and Xi have met face-to-face as leaders, and the first since they met in San Francisco during last year’s APEC forum.
It also comes two months before Trump begins his second term as US president. In recent days, Trump has signaled that he would appoint officials who take a tough stance on China to key positions, including appointing Florida Rep. Mike Walz as national security adviser. He is also expected to nominate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state.
Experts are watching whether Elon Musk, who is close to President Trump and produces and sells Tesla cars in China, will urge the president to take a more flexible approach to China. .
President Xi reiterated his belief that China wants to cooperate with the United States, adding, “Competition between great powers should not be the underlying logic of our time.”
He also objected to the idea of decoupling and the U.S. move to deny China’s advanced semiconductor technology, known as the “narrow garden, high fence” policy.
Mr. Xi told Mr. Biden, “’A narrow garden with a high fence’ is not something major countries should pursue.”
Sullivan said the export controls are limited to high-end technology related to U.S. national security concerns.
