Xi Says China Can Work With US Before Possible Biden Meeting

Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Jing Li
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said his nation is willing to work with the US to find ways to cooperate, comments that come before a potential meeting with President Joe Biden at a Group of 20 summit next month.

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Better communication between the two nations would bolster global peace and development, Xi said in a letter to the National Committee on US-China Relations’ annual dinner Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

“China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, which will benefit not only the two countries but also the whole world,” Xi said, according to the report on Thursday.

The comments strike a conciliatory tone after a Communist Party congress during which Xi secured a norm-breaking third term and promised China would stand its ground in a more hostile world.

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Xi’s remarks echoed his message last year to the same gala for the group that aims to promote China-US cooperation. That event similarly came before a video summit with the US leader in November. Still, they signal an effort to maintain ties despite disputes over Taiwan, the semiconductor industry and Beijing’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to Department of Defense leaders on Wednesday, Biden emphasized that even as the US maintains its military advantage over China, “we’re making it clear that we don’t seek conflict.”

“There’ll be stiff competition, but there doesn’t need to be conflict,” he added.

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Earlier this week, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration would “keep the lines of communication open, and that includes at the leader level.” He said teams were still working through a possible meeting when world leaders gather at a G-20 meeting in Bali next month, in what would be Biden’s first sitdown with Xi as president.

When asked about a possible meeting between Xi and Biden, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that she had no information to offer.

The Commerce Department unveiled sweeping regulations this month that limit Beijing’s access to chips, the Biden administration’s most aggressive move to try to stop China from developing capabilities to challenge the US’s global technological dominance.

Xi, in turn, has pledged that his nation would prevail in its fight to develop strategically important technology.

--With assistance from Sarah Zheng and Lucille Liu.

(Updates with quote from Xi Jinping and comment from Foreign Ministry.)

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