Xi cited climate change and fighting the pandemic as priority “global challenges” on which to cooperate.
Chinese President Xi Jinping asked his US counterpart, Joe Biden, to develop “healthy and stable” relations during the virtual meeting that the two held on Monday, Washington time (Tuesday morning in Beijing).
Xi said that “China and the United States must respect each other, coexist in peace, cooperate, properly manage internal affairs and assume their international responsibilities,” the state news agency Xinhua reported.
According to the source, Xi told Biden that he is “prepared” to work with him to “build consensus” and “take steps” to redirect relationships.
The Chinese president stressed that “China and the United States are at a critical stage of their development” and that both countries have the obligation to maintain a “peaceful and stable” international order.
Likewise, Xi cited climate change and the fight against the pandemic as priority “global challenges” in which to cooperate.
According to Xi, that the US and China work hand in hand is “a desire shared by our two peoples and by those around the world and the joint mission of the Chinese and US leaders.”
The virtual meeting comes after the telephone conversation between the two leaders last September, in which Biden and Xi acknowledged their responsibility to ensure that the “competition” between their respective countries “does not lead to conflict.”
Relations between both powers deteriorated during the presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) with scuffles in fields such as commercial, technological, diplomatic, security, on account of human rights and the situation in Taiwan.
In recent meetings between officials from both countries, the United States reiterated to China its concern about human rights in the Xinjiang region, in Hong Kong, and about the situation in the South China Sea.
For its part, Beijing hopes that Washington will adopt “rational and pragmatic policies” and not use “issues related to sovereignty and security” to “interfere in China’s internal affairs.” (I)
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