At the G20 summit in Bali, the US president meets with the Chinese leader.
In his first face-to-face encounter as president with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Joe Biden criticized China's "increasingly hostile" activities towards Taiwan amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
The US president raised worry about China's policy towards Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan during their meeting on Monday in Bali, according to the White House. Biden and Xi also "talked openly" about a number of global concerns.
The People's Republic of China's coercive and more hostile activities toward Taiwan, which jeopardize regional peace and security as well as global wealth, were brought up by Vice President Biden, according to a statement from the White House.
According to a statement from China's foreign ministry, Xi reminded Biden that Taiwan was "the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US ties" and that it was "the very core of China's vital interests."
The three-and-a-half-hour encounter, according to Biden, took place in Bali, Indonesia, the day before the G20 summit that Indonesian President Joko Widodo was hosting.
Although they had spoken five times over the previous two years via phone or video connection, it was the first time the two men had actually met since Biden took office. After avoiding international travel since the Covid-19 outbreak started in January 2020, Xi has only lately started to do so again.
In his televised opening remarks, Biden stated, "I'm dedicated to keeping the lines of communication open between you and me personally." We all have a responsibility to demonstrate that the US and China can work through their differences, avoid conflict via competitiveness, and find common ground on pressing global challenges.
Face-to-face encounters between the two presidents are necessary in order to "plan the appropriate direction for the partnership," according to Xi.
The White House reported that while Biden expressed concerns about Chinese behavior toward Taiwan, he also informed Xi that the US opposed any unilateral changes to the status quo on Taiwan. According to the report, Biden assured his counterpart that the US had not altered its "One China" policy, which recognizes Beijing as the only legitimate government in China and accepts Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a part of China without endorsing it.
Less than three months have passed since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan infuriated China, which retaliated by conducting significant military drills around the self-governing island that it claims as a part of its sovereign territory.
Additionally, Beijing cut off a number of regular talks with Washington on topics like climate change and judicial cooperation.
The Taiwan crisis brought to light the growing likelihood that a minor military mishap could set off a wider confrontation between the two biggest economies and geopolitical forces on earth.
