US President Joe Biden described his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday as “most constructive” as the leaders, meeting for the first time in a year, agreed to restore military-to-military communications and ease tensions.
The summit, held at a historic estate in California, concluded with a four-hour meeting and a walk in the garden.
Biden acknowledged disagreements with Xi but praised the Chinese leader for being straightforward. The restoration of a military hotline, severed by China after a US House speaker’s visit to Taiwan in 2022, was deemed “critically important” by Biden to avoid miscalculations. However, the leaders remained divided on Taiwan, with Xi insisting on stopping arms sales and asserting that reunification was “unstoppable.”
The leaders also announced agreements on addressing the production of fentanyl, an opioid linked to a deadly epidemic in the US, and agreed to hold talks on artificial intelligence. Biden emphasized the need to prevent competition from escalating into conflict, while Xi stated that Earth was “big enough” for both countries to succeed.
The meeting marked the first in-person talks since November 2022, and tensions had escalated after the US shot down a Chinese spy balloon in February. While both leaders expressed optimism and progress on global challenges, the Taiwan issue remained a major point of contention.
China urged the US to stop arming Taiwan, emphasizing the inevitability of reunification, while Biden called for respect for upcoming elections in Taiwan. Russia welcomed the meeting, and Xi sought an end to trade curbs to boost the Chinese economy. After the summit, Xi hosted a dinner with US executives.
