XI and Biden discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues

 LIMA: President Joseph R. Biden Jr. met with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Lima, Peru today.  This meeting is the third between the two Presidents and follows their April 2, 2024, telephone call.  The two leaders had a candid, constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference.

 President Biden underscored that U.S. investment in sources of strength at home and alignment with partners and allies around the world have been central to his Administration’s foreign policy approach.  He welcomed efforts to maintain open channels of communication with the PRC to manage competition responsibly and prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation.

 The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relationship over the past four years and took stock of efforts to responsibly manage competitive aspects of the relationship and advance areas of cooperation since the Woodside Summit in November 2023, including counternarcotics, military-military communication, artificial intelligence-related risks, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges.

 On counternarcotics, both sides affirmed the importance of continued coordinated law enforcement actions, information exchanges to identify new and emerging drug trends, and regulatory actions.  President Biden welcomed the PRC’s scheduling of 55 dangerous synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, closure of online platforms and companies that supply precursor chemicals, and arrests connected to the illicit chemical industry, and he called for additional steps in the period ahead.  Both sides welcomed the resumption over the last year of high-level military-to-military communications, the U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks, U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and engagements between theater commanders.  Both leaders affirmed the need to continue these channels of communication.

 Building on a candid and constructive dialogue on AI and co-sponsorship of each other’s resolutions on AI at the United Nations General Assembly, the two leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of AI systems, improve AI safety and international cooperation, and promote AI for good for all. The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.  The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.

  The two leaders also exchanged views on key regional and global challenges.  President Biden condemned the deployment of thousands of DPRK troops to Russia, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s unlawful war against Ukraine with serious consequences for both European and Indo-Pacific peace and security. He expressed deep concern over the PRC’s continued support for Russia’s defense industrial base.  President Biden emphasized the United States’ commitment to upholding international law and freedom of navigation, overflight, and peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea. On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States’ one China policy remains unchanged, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.  He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.  He called for an end to destabilizing PRC military activity around Taiwan.

 President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s unfair trade policies and emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine the national security of the United States or its partners, without unduly limiting trade and investment. The President noted the importance of human rights and the responsibility of all nations to respect their human rights commitments.  He emphasized that it remains a priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are unjustly detained or subject to exit bans in China.  The President raised deep concerns about ongoing PRC cyberattacks targeting civilian critical infrastructure and threatening the safety and security of Americans.

 Building on the Bali and Woodside meetings, the two leaders stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully.  Both leaders reiterated the importance of maintaining a strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and called for continued use of diplomatic, military, law enforcement, commercial, and financial channels.