The Chinese leadership and the US president held their highest level talks in months on Sunday, according to US Vice President Joe Biden. He also stated Beijing’s economic problems will not prompt an invasion of Taiwan.At the yearly G20 summit in New Delhi, Biden claimed he had a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the No. 2 to President Xi Jinping. Since Biden and Xi spoke at the G20 in Indonesia last year, the talks between the two countries were their highest level encounter in almost ten months.
In place of Xi, Li, who became premier in March, attended the summit of world leaders. Although it was not anticipated that the two presidents would speak at the G20, unplanned interactions happen frequently at summits.“My team, my staff still meets with President Xi’s people and his cabinet,” Biden told reporters. “I met with his No.2 person in India today.”He added: “We talked about stability,” and the Southern Hemisphere. “It wasn’t confrontational at all.”
The White House on Sunday said Biden had met with a Chinese leader at the summit.The two super powers have been trying to thaw frosty relations this year after a spat over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over US territory, while fears of an economic slowdown have gripped Beijing.Speaking at a press conference in Vietnam, Biden touted the US economy as the “strongest” globally. He told reporters that China’s growth was slowing due to a weak global economy as well as Chinese policies but did not specify which policies.
Biden called China’s economic situation a “crisis,” citing issues in the real estate sector and high youth unemployment.“One of the major economic tenets of his plan isn’t working at all right now,” Biden said of Xi, without elaborating. “I’m not happy for that, but it’s not working.”Biden added: “He has his hands full right now.”The Democratic president is headed into a 2024 re-election campaign where his own handling of the economy and inflation has become a central concern for voters.The US economy grew at a 2.1% annualised rate last quarter. Central bankers have sharply raised interest rates to bring inflation back down to target levels.
August trade data showed China’s exports and imports both narrowing their declines, joining other indicators showing a possible stabilisation in the economic downturn, as policymakers seek to spur demand and fend off deflation.Li has said China should achieve its 2023 growth target of around 5%, but some analysts think a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth could mean lower growth.
Open dialogue
Biden has tried to keep communications open with China to lower the temperature in international frictions including over Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China.“I don’t think this is going to cause China to invade Taiwan,” Biden said of the country’s economic troubles. “As a matter of fact, the opposite, probably doesn’t have the same capacity that it had before.”
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