United States President, Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping, in Bali on Monday.
The duo opened their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake and said they have a “responsibility” to show the two countries can “manage our differences”.
Mr Xi said he is prepared for a “candid and in-depth exchange of views” with Mr Biden, who said he hoped they would find areas of cooperation.
He added that the current state of China-US relations was not in the interests of both countries and that they needed to “steer the rudder”, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
In the first in-person talks between both leaders since Mr Biden became president, Mr Xi also said they should think about and clarify the direction of development of their own countries, as well as consider the way to get along with other countries and the world.
For his part, Mr Biden greeted Mr Xi with a smile that belied the growing competition between the nation that has defined the last century and a rival that seeks to define the next one.
Mr Biden said he wanted the United States and China to “manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict.”
While attending a gathering of southeast Asian nations at the weekend, Mr Biden said of US relations with China: “We have very little misunderstanding.”
He told reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday: “We just got to figure out where the red lines are and… what are the most important things to each of us going into the next two years.”
Referring to Mr Xi remaining in power for at least another five years – breaking with a decades-long precedent that limits the terms of Chinese leaders – Mr Biden added: “His circumstance has changed, to state the obvious, at home.”
The president said of his own situation that he was “coming in stronger” after successful midterm elections that saw the Democrats retain control of the Senate.
(AFP/Sky Sports)