President Biden and Xi Jinping have met together Monday for the first time in person since Biden took office on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, with the Chinese leader saying the relationship between the two superpowers has “attracted the world’s attention.”
Xi’s trip to Indonesia is his first in three years and comes as tension between Washington and Beijing mounts following increased Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.
“As leaders of our two nations we share responsibility in my view to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming any bigger than mere conflict and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues require our mutual cooperation,” Biden said after shaking Xi’s hand.
Biden said the world also expects China and the U.S. to play a key role in tackling challenges such as climate change and food insecurity.
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
“History is the best textbook so we should take history as a mirror and let it guide the future,” Xi told reporters.
“The world has come to a crossroads where to go from here,” he added. “This is a question that is not only on our minds, but also on the mind of all countries. The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle their relationship and for our meeting it has attracted the world’s attention.”
Geopolitical relations between the two superpowers have been strained for years following the COVID-19 pandemic, a trade war and increased pressure from the West placed on Beijing to address gross human rights abuses.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
