China’s Xi Jinping calls for ‘stable’ US ties in brief meeting with Kamala Harris on Apec sidelines

Talks with Joe Biden in Bali had been ‘constructive’ and will guide bilateral ties, Xi tells US vice-president as he calls for mutual understanding
The US does not seek conflict or confrontation with China, Harris asserts, urging that lines of communication stay open

US-China relations

Dewey Simin Bangkok

Published: 1:43pm, 19 Nov 2022

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Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke briefly on Saturday with US Vice-President Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the Apec forum in Bangkok, just days after his closely watched meeting with American counterpart Joe Biden in Bali.

Xi told Harris the meeting with Biden – the first in-person sit-down between the pair as heads of state – had been “constructive”, and that it would guide the next phase of US-China relations, roiled in recent months over a range of issues.

Xi-Biden talks: US Secretary of State to visit China to keep up communication

He also said he hoped both sides would enhance mutual understanding and reduce misjudgment, and push for the return of “healthy and stable” bilateral ties, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Harris, meanwhile, reiterated that the US did not seek conflict or confrontation with China and that the two countries should keep lines of communication open, according to CCTV.

The US vice-president reinforced Biden’s message to the Chinese leader that “we must maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries,” Agence France-Presse reported, quoting a US official who requested anonymity.

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Xi hopes to work with Biden to bring China-US relations back to ‘healthy, stable development’

Observers earlier suggested that the language used by the superpowers following the three-hour Xi-Biden meeting, held on the margins of the Group of 20 Summit in the Indonesian resort island, signalled a mutual desire to turn down the temperature after tensions escalated in recent months over issues including Taiwan and tech access.

Xi has held talks with a string of world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit since he arrived in Thailand on Thursday, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern.