President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, their first discussion since their meeting in California in November.
According to a senior administration official, the two leaders planned to discuss climate change, the US-China economic relationship, development in artificial intelligence, and stemming the flow of dangerous drugs such as fentanyl.
Officials downplayed expectations for Tuesday’s conversation, calling it a “check-in” as part of the administration’s attempts to “maintain regular open lines of communication to responsibly manage competition and prevent unintended consequences.”
When Biden and Xi met in Woodside, near San Francisco, last year, they promised to continue communicating as they faced global difficulties. A senior administration source explained that their phone call on Tuesday was about “finding a chance for the two leaders to talk through the tough issues.”
The White House described the talk as “candid and constructive.”
“They reviewed and encouraged progress on key issues discussed at the Woodside Summit, including counternarcotics cooperation, ongoing military-to-military communication, talks to address AI-related risks, and continuing efforts on climate change and people-to-people exchanges,” according to a transcript of the phone conversation.
Biden also stressed “the importance of maintaining peace and stability” in Taiwan and expressed concern about China’s backing for Russia’s military defense.
On the domestic front, the White House reports that Biden discussed with Xi trade policies and other economic practices that “harm American workers and families.”
According to a Tuesday announcement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will also visit China on Wednesday for a week of bilateral discussions and other activities. According to a senior Treasury official, her trip will focus on pressuring her Chinese counterparts on those trade practices, expanding cooperation between the US and China on illicit finance, and moving forward on shared priorities such as financial stability and climate change.
“The two leaders welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship through high-level diplomacy and working-level consultations in the weeks and months ahead, including during upcoming visits by Secretary Yellen and Secretary Blinken,” the White House said in a statement.
China has economic motives to interact more with the United States, as its economy is in a slump, and Xi wants to restore market confidence and attract international investment. Last week, the Chinese president met with a delegation of American CEOs in Beijing.
The readouts of Tuesday’s talk from both countries highlighted the long list of issues on which the two leaders continue to disagree. Beijing believes Biden’s policies are “suppressing” China’s growth.
One of Xi’s primary concerns is US exports of sophisticated electronics. Notably, the Chinese readout accuses the United States of “suppressing China’s high-tech development” and warns that “we will not stand idly by” if this continues.
The Biden administration referred to its economic constraints on China as a “small yard, high fence” strategy. This implies they impose stringent restrictions on a few areas with significant military applications while maintaining normal economic interactions in others.
