Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden that he’s ready to work with Donald Trump to improve the relationship between the world’s biggest economies.
Speaking at the start of what’s expected to be their final meeting before Trump takes office, Xi told Biden that the US and China should strive for peaceful co-existence over the long term. He said “solidarity and co-operation” are needed to help humanity overcome difficulties, adding that “neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution”.
“China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences, so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-US relationship for the benefit of the two peoples,” Xi said at the meeting in Lima, Peru.
Biden, speaking in response, said he was “very proud” of the progress between the two sides.
“These conversations prevent miscalculations and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict,” Biden said, adding that cooperation has improved on military communication, AI risks and counter-narcotics.
Xi called the meeting “candid, profound and constructive”, adding that common interests between the US and China are expanding rather than shrinking. He told Biden a “new Cold War” shouldn’t be fought and called on the US to refrain from any moves that have a “chilling effect.”
See also: Xi seizes role as global defender of free trade against Trump
Biden has just about two months before he hands power to Trump, who has threatened 60% tariffs on China — a level that risks decimating trade between the world’s biggest economies. Early appointments by the president-elect — including China hawks Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Waltz as national security advisor — suggest he is readying an adversarial stance toward Beijing.
Biden and Xi have sought to stabilise relations and build on a summit a year ago in San Francisco, which reset ties after his administration shot down a Chinese spy balloon drifting over the continental US and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, prompting Beijing to hold military exercises surrounding the island. Taiwan remains the biggest military flashpoint between the US and China, and the most sensitive issue for Xi.
Even so, tensions remain following a tumultuous four years that saw both nations take steps to become more self-reliant in preparation for a potential conflict, even if one isn’t inevitable or planned. The Biden administration has moved to deny Beijing advanced AI chips and other technology, pressuring US allies to comply with export controls designed to ensure the US maintains its military superiority over China.
See also: Trump tests Xi’s appetite to play ball with early tariff threat
At the start of the meeting, Xi told Biden that major countries shouldn’t pursue a policy of “small yard high fences,” using a term coined by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to describe the US efforts to ensure China can’t access cutting-edge technology.
Afterward, Sullivan announced that the two sides agreed to avoid giving AI control of nuclear weapons. He added that Biden expressed concern over China’s support for Russia’s industrial base and warned that North Korea’s move to send troops to help Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine had consequences for peace and security in Asia as well Europe.
The alliance between Putin and Kim Jong Un is becoming a headache for Xi. Although he’s supported both leaders, Xi has sought to portray Beijing as neutral regarding the war in Ukraine and pushed to improve ties with the US and its allies.
The Kim-Putin partnership risks adding economic pressure on China, and it undermines Xi’s argument that the US shouldn’t have military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region.
Biden also raised China’s hack of US telecom providers with Xi, Sullivan said, without elaborating. China’s state-sponsored hack of US telecommunications systems — an effort to steal call records and communications from US political candidates and aides, including those from Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaigns — extended to T-Mobile US Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. China has denied any effort to interfere in US politics.
For his part, Xi urged the US to avoid interfering in the South China Sea and said the it should “recognise the separatist nature” of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. China claims Taiwan as its territory and his threatened to take it by force if necessary.
Overall, the meeting was an opportunity for Xi to take stock of the relationship as he considers how to brace his country for a possible tariff shock when Trump returns to the White House. China’s manufacturing push has helped drive export growth to the fastest in two years, buoying an economy struggling with a prolonged real estate slump and deflation.
To stay ahead of Singapore and the region’s corporate and economic trends, click here for Latest Section
‘Obvious fact’
Sullivan said Biden noted the “obvious fact” that a new administration would take over on Jan 20, but didn’t project ahead to what might be coming.
“The incoming administration not the business of providing us assurances about anything, and they’ll make their own decisions as they go forward,” Sullivan said.
With the threat of Trump’s tariffs looming, Xi has spent much of the APEC summit positioning China as a more reliable free trade partner. He held meetings with a range of US allies and partners and inaugurated a new US$1.3 billion ($1.75 billion) deep-water port in Peru, while calling on APEC leaders to “tear down the walls” impeding trade, investment, technology and services.
Xi also announced that he would host the APEC summit in 2026, which would be an opportunity for Trump to potentially visit China.
On Saturday, Xi told Biden that his nation would continue to carry forward the “traditional friendship” between the nations even as China continues to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.
“China’s goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged,” Xi said.
