Biden holds virtual meeting with ‘old friend’ Xi Jinping amid strained US-China relations
US President Joe Biden has held a virtual meeting with China’s Xi Jinping and began on a positive note – saying their goal is to ensure competition “does not veer into conflict”.
The two leaders met on a video call amid rising tensions between the US and China, which have long had a strained relationship.
Mr Biden has criticised Beijing over human rights abuses against Uyghurs in northwest China as well as the suppressing of democratic protests in Hong Kong and military intimidation towards the self-ruled island of Taiwan, among other things.
President Joe Biden meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping
In response, Mr Xi‘s deputies have lashed out against the Biden administration for interfering in what they believe are internal Chinese matters.
“It seems to be our responsibility as the leaders of China and the United States to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended, rather than simple, straightforward competition,” Mr Biden said as he opened the meeting.
He added: “It seems to me we need to establish some common sense guardrails. To be clear and honest where we disagree, and work together where interests intersect, especially on vital global issues like climate change.”
Mr Biden said the US is “always going to stand up for our interests and values and those of our allies and partners,” before inviting Mr Xi into a discussion where his administration has concerns, “from human rights to economics, to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
Mr Xi, who warmly greeted the US leader by referring to him as his “old friend”, said the two sides needed to improve communication.
Mr Biden discusses his concerns with Mr Xi, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) listens
He claimed a healthy and stable bilateral relationship is necessary for dealing with global challenges like climate change and COVID-19, and added he would like to work with Mr Biden to guide the positive development of US-China relations.
“I stand ready to work with you, Mr President, to build consensus, take active steps and move China-US relations forward in a positive direction,” he said.
“A sound Chinese-US relationship is required for advancing our two countries’ respective development and for safeguarding a peaceful and stable international environment, including finding effective responses to global challenges, such as climate change… and the COVID pandemic.”
Mr Xi pointed out that both China and the US are at critical stages of development, and the “global village” of humanity faces multiple challenges.
The two leaders previously travelled together when both were vice presidents and know each other well – and Mr Biden would have preferred to meet Mr Xi in person.
However the Chinese leader has not left his country since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The White House suggested the idea of a virtual meeting as the next best thing to allow for the pair to have a candid conversation about a wide range of strains in the relationship – from climate change, to human rights and trade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shake hands with then US Vice President Joe Biden (L) in Beijing in 2013
Ahead of the meeting, the White House said Mr Biden will abide by the longstanding US “One China” policy, which recognises Beijing but allows informal relations and defence ties with Taipei.
It comes after Chinese military forces held exercises last week near Taiwan in response to a visit by a US congressional delegation to the island.
Mr Xi may be looking to stabilise US-China relations in the near term with Beijing set to host the Winter Olympics in February, as well as the Chinese leader expected to serve a third five-year term as president next year.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier said that the “condensing of power” in China made the leader-to-leader conversations essential.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden has some domestic issues of his own after seeing his polling numbers fall over concerns about the lingering coronavirus pandemic, inflation and supply chain problems, and is looking to find a measure of equilibrium on the most consequential foreign policy matter he is facing.
The White House set low expectations for the meeting with Mr Xi, and said no major announcements or even a joint statement were anticipated.
US
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
Stock markets around the world fell on Thursday after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs – with some economists now fearing a recession.
The US president announced tariffs for almost every country – including 10% rates on imports from the UK – on Wednesday evening, sending financial markets reeling.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.
Trump tariffs latest: US stock markets tumble
All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.
The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP
By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.
Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.
Worst one-day losses since COVID
As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.
It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.
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The latest numbers on tariffs
‘Trust in President Trump’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.
“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”
Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.
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How is the world reacting to Trump’s tariffs?
Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’
The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.
He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.
Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.
He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”
Read more:
Do Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff numbers add up?
Tariffs about something more than economics: power
It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.
Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”
Tanking stock markets, collapsing world orders, devastating trade wars; economists with their hair ablaze are scrambling to keep up.
But as we try to make sense of Donald Trumps’s tariff tsunami, economic theory only goes so far. In the end this surely is about something more primal.
Power.
Understanding that may be crucial to how the world responds.
Yes, economics helps explain the impact. The world’s economy has after all shifted on its axis, the way it’s been run for decades turned on its head.
Instead of driving world trade, America is creating a trade war. We will all feel the impact.
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PM will ‘fight’ for deal with US
Donald Trump says he is settling scores, righting wrongs. America has been raped, looted and pillaged by the world trading system.
But don’t be distracted by the hyperbole – and if you think this is about economics alone, you may be missing the point.
Above all, tariffs give Donald Trump power. They strike fear into allies and enemies, from governments to corporations.
This is a president who runs his presidency like a medieval emperor or mafia don.
It is one reason why since his election we have seen what one statesman called a conga line of sycophants make their way to the White House, from world leaders to titans of industry.
The conga line will grow longer as they now redouble their efforts hoping to special treatment from Trump’s tariffs. Sir Keir Starmer among them.
President Trump’s using similar tactics at home, deploying presidential power to extract concessions and deter dissent in corporate America, academia and the US media. Those who offer favours are spared punishment.
His critics say he seeks a form power for the executive or presidential branch of government that the founding fathers deliberately sought to prevent.
Whether or not that is true, the same playbook of divide and rule through intimidation can now be applied internationally. Thanks to tariffs
Each country will seek exceptions but on Trump’s terms. Those who retaliate may meet escalation.
This is the unforgiving calculus for governments including our own plotting their next moves.
The temptation will be to give Trump whatever he wants to spare their economies, but there is a jeopardy that compounds the longer this goes on.
Read more:
Do Trump’s numbers on tariffs really add up?
Trump hits island home only to penguins with 10% tariffs
Could America’s traditional allies turn to China? Pic: AP
Malcolm Turnbull, the former Australian prime minister who coined the conga line comparison, put it this way: “Pretty much all the international leaders I have seen that have sucked up to Trump have been run over. The reality is if you suck up to bullies, whether it’s global affairs or in the playground, you just get more bullying.”
Trading partners may be able to mitigate the impact of these tariffs through negotiation, but that may only encourage this unorthodox president to demand ever more?
Ultimately the world will need a more reliable superpower than that.
In the hands of such a president, America cannot be counted on.
When it comes to security, stability and prosperity, allies will need to fend for themselves.
And they will need new friends. If Washington can’t be relied on, Beijing beckons.
America First will, more and more, mean America on its own.
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