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Joe Biden announced that military-to-military contacts will resume between the US and China
During his San Francisco press conference, the US president said military-to-military contacts will resume between the two countries.
Biden said:
That’s how accidents happen. Misunderstandings. So we’re back to direct, open, clear communications on a direct basis.
Key events
In an interview with the Associated Press, Zoe Liu, a fellow for China studies at the Council for Foreign Relations, has described the meeting between Biden and Xi as a positive step, albeit an incremental one.
“These agreements will not change the structural challenges in the bilateral relations, but it paves the way for more detailed working-level discussions, which is more important,” she said.
Let’s take another look at the key takeaways from today’s meeting between Biden and Xi.
First up, resuming military-to-military communications.
China severed military contact after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
On Wednesday, the two leaders reached an agreement to resume military-to-military communications. That means Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will speak with his Chinese counterpart once someone is named to the job, the official said. Similar engagements will take place up and down the military chain of command.
The official said Biden was “very clear” to Xi that such communications between US and China should be institutionalised and that they are “not done as a gift or as a favor to either side.”
This is Helen Sullivan taking the Guardian’s live coverage.
You can see the White House video of the press conference held by Joe Biden below:
A selection of images from the day
Summary
Here’s a summary of Biden’s first meeting with Xi Jinping since the pair were in Bali last year, and Biden’s subsequent remarks on the meeting.
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During the meeting at the Filoli estate, 30 miles south of San Francisco, Xi Jinping called the partnership between the US and China “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and said that he and Joe Biden “shoulder heavy responsibilities for the two peoples, for the world and for history”.
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Ahead of the meeting, Xi and Biden pledged to cooperate more closely to fight climate change. Both countries said that they would commit to “economy-wide” nationally determined contributions across all greenhouse gases, not just CO2.
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Biden emphasized the value of the two leaders speaking in person, saying: “There’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions.” “We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict,” Biden added. “And we also have to manage it responsibly … and work together when we see it in our interest to do so.”
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In a tweet, the White House said that the US president and Chinese president had a “candid and constructive” conversation on a range of issues including international diplomacy.
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In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi Jinping and the US’s relationship with China, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war. Among other comments about hostage negotiations and his approval of Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions, Biden said of the Israel-Hamas war: “I don’t know how long it’s gonna last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution.”
Thank you for following the Guardian’s live blog. My colleagues in Australia will be picking things up from here.
In addition to fielding questions about his meeting with Xi Jinping and the US’s relationship with China, Joe Biden was pressed by reporters about the Israel-Hamas war.
When asked whether or not he has set a deadline for his support of Israel’s military actions, and whether he’s comfortable with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions, he answered “yes” to the first part of the question and “no” to the second.
In regard to the release of hostages, Biden said he is “working to move forward on hostage negotiations”. He said he didn’t want to “get ahead” of himself by sharing specific details on progress, and clarified that he has no plans to send in the US military to remove hostages.
Biden added that he doesn’t expect to see an end to the war until “Hamas no longer has the capacity to murder, abuse and do horrific things to the Israelis”.
“I don’t know how long it’s gonna last but it won’t end until there’s a two-state solution,” he added.
Biden wished Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, a happy early birthday – she and Biden share the same 20 November birthday. Xi said he was embarrassed as he had been working so hard and had forgotten that his wife’s birthday was next week. He thanked Biden for reminding him, according to a Biden administration official.
Joe Biden doubled down on comments he made in June calling Xi Jinping a “dictator”.
In response to a question from a reporter, the US president said: “Well, look, he is, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country, based on a form of government that is totally different from ours.”
According to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to the state media, Xi Jinping confirmed the country’s willingness to restart military talks, but warned Biden against arming Taiwan.
‘The US side should … stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification,’ Xi told Biden, according to Chinese state media. ‘China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable,’ the Chinese leader said of the future of the self-ruled island, which Beijing has pledged to retake one day.
Joe Biden announced that military-to-military contacts will resume between the US and China
During his San Francisco press conference, the US president said military-to-military contacts will resume between the two countries.
Biden said:
That’s how accidents happen. Misunderstandings. So we’re back to direct, open, clear communications on a direct basis.
When asked by a Bloomberg reporter whether or not he trusted Xi Jinping in the contest of their joint efforts to reduce the flow of fentanyl, Biden said: “I know the man, I know his modus operandi … he’s been straight.”
He added that he and Xi talked about Taiwan’s election and that he “expects no interference” from China’s government.
Joe Biden says that the US will continue to compete with the People’s Republic of China, but will do so “responsibly” as not to create “unintentional conflict”.
He also announced a plan for Chinese experts to convene with US experts to “talk about the risks of AI”.
On artificial intelligence, the president said:
These are tangible steps in the right direction to determine what’s useful and not useful, what’s dangerous and what’s acceptable.
Joe Biden has began his remarks. The president’s first remarks are announcing a cooperation between China and the US to stem the flow of fentanyl and pill presses into the US.
You can watch Biden’s talk here.
As we await Joe Biden’s San Francisco press conference, here’s a quick summary of the day:
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Xi Jinping described the relationship between the US and China as “the most important bilateral relationship in the world”, and one that should be “perceived and envisioned in a broad context of the accelerating global transformations”.
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ABC’s senior White House correspondent Selina Wang reported that following Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s opening remarks, she asked Xi in Mandarin: “Do you trust Biden?” After the question, Wang said Xi “took out his translation earpiece to hear my question, looked at me, but didn’t respond”.
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The lead-up to Xi Jinping’s first visit to the US since 2017 was filled with meticulous planning, including cleanups of San Francisco homeless encampments, pre-determined camera angles to capture the meeting of the two heads of state, and specific seating arrangements, NBC News reports. “There is no detail too small,” Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told the outlet.
In addition to talks about international relations and diplomacy, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping shared a meal. Here’s what was on the menu, the White House told the San Francisco Chronicle:
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Herbed ricotta ravioli with artichoke crisps;
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Tarragon-roasted heritage chicken with Carolina gold rice pilaf and charred broccolini and brussels sprouts;
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Almond meringue cake with praline buttercream and Concord grape sauce.
Thought there has been no official readout of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s meeting, which ended recently and lasted several hours, some details are beginning to emerge via Reuters.
During their talk, the Chinese president called on the US to stop arming Taiwan and to support China’s “reunification” with the island, and said that he hopes the US president will lift unilateral sanctions that impact China.
Biden left the estate where the meeting was held and raised two thumbs up to reporters and said the the talks with Xi went “well”.
We’re about 30 minutes out from Biden’s press conference in San Francisco.
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