China-US relations Xi Jinping and Joe Biden exchange greetings on 45th anniversary of ties
- The presidents of the world’s two biggest economies have congratulated each other’s countries for 45 years of diplomatic relations
- The exchange marks a welcome start to the new year for Washington and Beijing after years of tensions amid their growing rivalry
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported the exchange on Monday morning, which followed exchanges of new year’s greetings between Xi and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Xi and Biden’s exchange come as the two countries bid to restore relations that have reached their most confrontational point in the 45 years since ties were established in 1979.
In November, Xi and Biden met in San Francisco and agreed to restore a wide range of communication channels that were heavily curtailed after then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022.
Dialogue on climate, the fight against illegal drugs, and military communication channels were all affected in the wake of the Pelosi visit to Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory.
Like most countries, the US does not recognise the self-ruled island as an independent state, but opposes any unilateral change to the status quo.