Xi Jinping with Joe Biden at a secluded estate outside San Francisco, where the APEC summit is being held
Chinese President Xi Jinping had a rare face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
The two leaders met outside of San Francisco for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Biden said the purpose of the meeting was “to understand each other.”
“As always, there’s no substitute to face-to-face discussions,” he said, adding that he and Xi “haven’t always agreed” in the past.
Biden and Xi agreed to restore some military-to-military communications between their armed forces at a time when unprofessional incidents between the two nations’ ships and aircraft have spiked.
Xi said after the meeting that he and Biden agreed to resume high-level military dialogues on the basis of equity and respect, according to a statement released by Xinhua state news agency.
The leaders also agreed to set up joint government talks on the use of artificial intelligence, as well as a working group on counternarcotics cooperation, Xinhua said.
At the opening of the talks, Biden said the two leaders must ensure that “competition does not lead to conflict.”
Xi later told Biden that “planet Earth is big enough for both countries to succeed.” He said that protectionism has weighed on the global economy.
Xi said China did not seek to “surpass or unseat the United States” and stressed that “the United States should not scheme to suppress and contain China.”
The leaders’ first meeting since November 2022 was held far from the APEC summit at Filoli estate, a venue miles outside San Francisco, chosen for its security, serenity and remoteness.
