Both the leaders open their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake, stressing need to manage differences
\n NUSA DUA\/ INDONESIA
\nPresidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping opened their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake on Monday, and with both men stressing the need to manage differences and avoid conflict.
\n\u201cThe world has come to a crossroads,\u201d Xi said vowing a \u201ccandid\u201d discussion of issues that have riven relations between the world\u2019s two leading powers.
\n\u201cThe world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,\u201d he said.
\nFor his part, Biden greeted Xi with a smile that belied the growing competition between the nation that has defined the last century and a rival that seeks to define the next one.
\nBiden said he wanted the United States and China to manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict.
\nThe two, holding their first in-person talks since Biden became president, met on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of a Group of 20 (G20) summit on Tuesday that is set to be fraught with tension over Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just great to see you,\u201d Biden told Xi as he put an arm around him, adding in remarks delivered in front of reporters that he was committed to keeping lines of communication open on a personal and government level.
\nHe mentioned climate change and food insecurity as problems the world expected their two countries to address.
\nResponding to Biden, Xi said the relationship between their two countries was not meeting global expectations.
\n\u201cSo we need to chart the right course for the China-US relationship. We need to find the right direction for the bilateral relationship going forward and elevate the relationship,\u201d Xi said.
\n\u201cThe world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,\u201d he said, adding he looked forward to working with Biden to bring the relationship back on the right track.
\nNeither leader wore a mask to ward off Covid though members of their delegations did.
\nTheir main topics of discussion are expected to be Taiwan, Ukraine and North Korea\u2019s nuclear ambitions, issues that will also loom over the G20 that is being held without Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.
\nOn Sunday, Biden told Asian leaders in Cambodia that US communication lines with China would stay open to prevent conflict, with tough talks almost certain in the days ahead.
\nRelations have been roiled in recent years by growing tensions over issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, trade practices and US restrictions on Chinese technology.
\nBut US officials said there have been quiet efforts by both Beijing and Washington over the past two months to repair ties.
\nUS Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters in Bali earlier that the meeting was \u201cintended to stabilise the relationship between the United States and China, and to create a more certain atmosphere for US businesses\u201d.
\nShe said that Biden had been clear with China about national security concerns regarding restrictions on sensitive US technologies and had raised concern about the reliability of Chine supply chains for commodities like minerals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Both the leaders open their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake, stressing need to manage differences NUSA DUA\/ INDONESIA Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping opened their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake on Monday, and with both men stressing the need to manage differences and avoid conflict. \u201cThe world has come to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-295232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n