Biden after the meeting with Xi: I do not want a conflict, I absolutely believe that there should not be a new Cold War

The President of the United States of America (USA) Joseph Biden Joseph Biden opposed today's meeting with the President of China Xi Jinping "coercive and increasingly aggressive actions" by Beijing towards Taiwan and expressed concern for human rights regarding the behavior of the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, it announced. is the White House.

In the first live meeting with Biden since he became US president, the Chinese president said that the Taiwan issue is at the very core of China's core interests, the foundation of the political basis of China-US relations and the first "red line" that must not be crossed in the relations between the two countries. according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Biden told his Chinese colleague that the US will "continue to compete vigorously" with China, but that "competition should not turn into conflict", the White House said in a statement about the three-hour meeting between the two leaders on the Indonesian island of Bali, where they are participating at the summit of the Group of 20 largest world economies (G20).

"When it comes to China, the US will compete fiercely, but I don't want a conflict. I absolutely believe that there should not be a new Cold War," Biden said at a press conference after the meeting, reports the Associated Press.

Xi said that he and Biden, as leaders of two large countries, must set the right course for bilateral relations.

At the meeting, he called on Biden to "chart the right course" and to "raise the relationship" between China and the US, and added that he was ready for a "sincere and in-depth exchange of views" with Biden.

Biden reiterated to reporters US support for the "one China" policy, according to which Washington recognizes the government in Beijing as legitimate, while at the same time maintaining informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan.

He added that he did not believe there was "any imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan," despite China's recent gun-rattling.

According to a statement from the White House, Biden and Xi agreed that "a nuclear war should never be fought" and that there can be no winners, "and emphasized their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine." This referred to threats by Russian officials to use atomic weapons after the unexpectedly weak results of the Russian military in the first nine months of the invasion of Ukraine.

"As leaders of the two nations, we share a responsibility to show that China and the US can overcome differences, to prevent competition from coming close to conflict, and to find ways to work together on pressing global issues," Biden said at the meeting.

The Chinese leader stated that the two sides should work with all countries to bring more hope for world peace, greater confidence in global stability and stronger impetus for joint development.

The meeting between Biden and Xi in Bali, on the eve of the G20 leaders' summit, began with a cordial handshake. It is the first live meeting of the two leaders since Biden became the president of the USA in January 2021. The two leaders previously spoke five times by phone or via video link.