First dialogue between Biden and Xi Jinping | Rights …

A few weeks after taking office as US president, Joe Biden finally had his first conversation with a president. The American said he spoke with President Xi Jinping for nearly two hours. Although he plans to handle the relationship between the two countries in a very different way than Trump did, Biden argued that “the security, prosperity, health and lifestyle of the American people”, according to the statement released by the White House in reference to the call between the two leaders.

The call came on the eve of the Chinese New Year, a celebration Biden mentioned in a tweet he posted after speaking with Xi Jinping. This time, he is no longer in the vice-presidency as he did so many times under the Barack Obama administration (2009-2017). The current US president has shown concern about the economic practices of the Asian giant which he described as “unfair and coercive”. The will to distance itself from Republican Donald Trump’s foreign policy has a limit and for the new government that limit is China.

Before starting the first dialogue with China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken Yes had spoken with allied countries such as Canada, UK, Australia, Japan and India on issues related to the Indo-Pacific region and China. Administration official pointed to the coincidences between the former government and the current one in the way of dealing with China as part of the “strategic competition” between the two powers. Although they admit to having detected “real problems” due to the handling of this problem by Trump.

Despite this, the strategy outlined by the United States borrows certain elements from Trump’s approach to his relations with China. Although he leaves out the one-sided tactics of the former Republican president, as senior officials – quoted anonymously – from the administration have reported to the newspaper The Washington Post. In this direction, Biden officials have reported that the US government will not reverse tariffs immediately, but will even assess the facility. new bans on the export of technologies. He will also maintain the tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese goods. According to the official, the government plans to maintain the tariffs imposed by Trump on Chinese products for the time being, pending a comprehensive review of U.S. trade strategy.

For their part, the Chinese media reported on the conversation between the two leaders, reaffirming Xi Jinping’s conciliatory tone on the importance of establishing healthy bilateral relations. At a time, Xi urged Biden to act with caution in the face of US condemnations of Chinese policy in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. because it deals with internal issues related to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.

However, in the statement released by the White House, the Democrat said he was deeply concerned about the repression in Hong Kong and also referred to human rights violations in Xinjiang, home to Uyghurs, a Muslim minority. He also referred to Taiwan, a territory that China claims to be its own and whose government is supported by the United States, which referred to Xi Jinping’s forceful actions towards the island 180 kilometers east of the China. In the days leading up to the first conversation between the two leaders, Biden gave an interview to the American network CBS in which he said that He said Xi was “bright, strong and I’m not saying it critically, but he doesn’t have that little ‘D os’ of democracy in his body.”. He also said he wanted to avoid conflicts between the two countries, while warning that there will be “extreme competition” between the two countries. “I’m not going to do it like Trump did. We’re going to focus on the international. Rules,” he said. Biden.

According to a statement released by the Xi Jinping administration with reference to the dialogue between the presidents, The Chinese president told Biden that cooperation between the two countries was “the only good option.” and seeks to resume dialogue mechanisms to avoid misunderstandings and unfair assessments, Xi said. Too I stress the importance of managing the differences between the two countries and at the same time identifying and collaborating in areas of cooperation.

Leaders also exchanged views on tackling the covid-19 pandemic and the “common challenges of global health security, climate change and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons”. The Washington Post that there is still no plan for a face-to-face meeting between the leaders.

During her Senate confirmation hearing, Biden’s current Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she plans to “be very aggressive to help the Americans compete with China’s unfair practices” before the consultations postulated by Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Roy Blunt.