President Joe Biden had a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, the two world leaders’ first conversation since they met in person in November 2023, Chinese media first reported.
During the phone call, Biden and Xi discussed Taiwan, ongoing military communication between the two countries and risks related to Artificial Intelligence, according to a White House readout of the call. The leaders also discussed efforts to address climate change and “counternarcotics cooperation,” the readout said.
“President Biden emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” according to the White House readout. “He raised concerns over the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security, and he emphasized the United States’ enduring commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
The two world leaders have not spoken on the phone since July 2022, an official said on a phone call with reporters. The world leaders previously met in person in November 2023 for their first in-person meeting in a year.
#Breaking: Chinese President Xi Jinping holds phone talks with US President Joe Biden: Xinhua pic.twitter.com/7UUsRY8Kvd
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 2, 2024
During the in-person meeting between the two leaders in November, Biden and Xi reached an agreement on halting the production of illicit fentanyl and resuming military-to-military communications. The two leaders also discussed tensions between China and Taiwan during their last in-person meeting. (RELATED: Biden Secures Major Concession As Xi Suggests Sending More Pandas To America)
“We have not changed our approach to the PRC, which remains one focused on the framework of invest, align, and compete. Intense competition requires intense diplomacy to manage tensions, address misperceptions, and prevent unintended conflict. And this call is one way to do that,” a senior administration official said in a phone call with reporters.
The president raised concerns to Xi during the Tuesday phone call over the PRC’s trade policies and non-market economic practices, arguing that such efforts are harming American workers and families, the White House readout said. Biden added that the United States was planning to continue to “prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security,” according to the readout.
The two leaders also pledged to continue open communication between the countries, the readout said.
“To take it back to that meeting last November, both President Biden and President Xi agreed that they would try to pick up the phone a bit more; use that tool as a means of responsibly managing the relationship, of being in closer touch at the leader level, which is so very critical in the Chinese system, on a more regular basis,” the senior administration reporter told reporters during a call.