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President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, their first verbal exchange since they met last November in California.
The two leaders were expected to discuss climate change, U. S. -China economic relations, as well as advances in synthetic intelligence and the fight against illegal drug trafficking, such as fentanyl, according to a senior administration official.
Officials downplayed expectations ahead of Tuesday’s call, describing it as a “check-in” amid the administration’s efforts to “maintain open and normal lines of communication to responsibly manage festivals and unintended consequences. “
Although the call between Biden and Xi Jinping lasted 105 minutes, an administration official told ABC News, longer than previous phone conversations between the two leaders.
When Biden and Xi met in Woodside, near San Francisco, last year, the two men agreed to continue talking as they face global challenges. Their verbal telephone exchange on Tuesday, a senior administration official said, was aimed at “finding an opportunity for the two leaders to talk about sensitive issues. “
The White House had a “frank and constructive” verbal exchange.
“They reviewed and encouraged progress on key issues discussed at the Woodside Summit, adding counternarcotics cooperation, continued inter-military communication, discussions to address the risks of AI, and ongoing efforts at climate replacement and people-to-people replacements. “According to a reading of the phone call.
Biden also stressed “the importance of maintaining peace and stability” in Taiwan and raised considerations about China’s military defense for Russia.
On the domestic front, according to the White House, Biden discussed with Xi industrial policies and other economic practices that “harm Americans and their families. “
It was also announced Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would travel to China on Wednesday for a week of bilateral meetings and other engagements. His vacation will be aimed at lobbying his Chinese counterparts over those industrial practices, as well as expanding U. S. -China cooperation. They oppose illicit finance and advance shared priorities, such as monetary stability and fighting climate change, according to a senior Treasury official.
“The two leaders welcomed ongoing efforts to keep channels of communication open and responsibly manage appointments through high-level international relations and working-level consultations in the coming weeks and months, adding to the upcoming visits by Secretaries Yellen and Blinken,” the White House said. said.
China has economic reasons to interact more with the United States, as its economy is in recession and Xi needs to regain confidence in his market and attract more foreign investment. Last week, the Chinese president met with a delegation of U. S. CEOs in Beijing.
The fallout from Tuesday’s call across the two countries underscored the litany of spaces in which the two leaders remain fundamentally at odds. Beijing believes Biden’s policies are “suppressing” China and its economy.
One of Xi’s biggest considerations is U. S. exports of complex chips. The Chinese accuse the U. S. of “suppressing China’s high-tech development” and threaten “not to sit idly by” if the U. S. continues to do so.
Biden’s leadership has described its economic restrictions on China as a “small yard, top fence” strategy. This means that they impose strict restrictions in a few spaces with military applications, while maintaining normal economic relations in other spaces.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
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