Personage to Personage : Re-setting the Dial : Working Things Out

Then Vice-President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in 2013.

"[President Biden] underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing's coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan."

White House readout 

"You [President Biden] have said that America can be defined in one word: Possibilities."

"We hope the possibilities will now point toward an improvement of China-US relations."

"[Issues of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are] China's internal affairs and concern China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." 

"The US side should respect China's core interests and act prudently." 

Chinese President Xi Jinping

"[The call was] robust and comprehensive."

"Modern-day historians can certainly confirm that there are few presidents who came into this job with more of a history on engaging with Chinese leadership."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki 

 

"Xi-Biden telephone call sends positive signals to world."  

"[Biden pledged to communicate in] the spirit of mutual respect and to improve mutual understanding and avoid miscommunication and miscalculation."

State news agency Xinhua

"[The new administration is] being very careful in our initial interactions with China [but preparatory discussions with allies had put Biden in a\ strong position [to negotiate with his Chinese counterpart]."

"This is a sustainable strategy that will play out over the course of years.We need to stick with this, play the long game, and make investments in these foundational components."

"[While there was] merit in the basic proposition [of a strategic competition with China, there were] deep problems [with how the Trump administration had gone about it—specifically, Trump’s reluctance to engage with key allies on the issue and bungling of the pandemic response]."

"[There would be adjustments to the Trump-era China trade policy, which] will depend on internal consultations across government and consultations with partners in Europe and Asia. [But tariffs put in place by the previous administration will remain for the time being while the policy is under review.]"

"On trade, we have maintained tariffs laid down over the last few years not because we think the trade war was particularly successful, but because we have to [proceed] very carefully, in consultation with partners and allies, [and] work through the sources of leverage we have on the economic front."

Senior Biden administration officials

"If we don't get moving, they [China] are going to eat our lunch."

"They're investing billions of dollars dealing with a whole range of issues that relate to transportation, the environment and a whole range of other things."

"We just have to step up."

U.S.President Joe Biden

The first communication by telephone between U.S.President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping is being carefully watched and deciphered by allies and other interested parties to try to detect which way the wind is blowing. Confrontation, President Xi warned, would result in a "disaster" for both nations. And it seems that he is preaching to the converted, from the same playbook that the new U.S. president has consulted and sings from.

Although President Biden has spoken of China as America's "Most serious competitor", insisting the U.S. will "out-compete" Beijing, President Xi calls for "win-win" cooperation. Both, it would seem on the evidence, are right. And the rest is commentary. The two hour conversation refreshes both men's erstwhile diplomatic relationship circa the Obama administration, after a troublesome interregnum. During which time Beijing became more assertively aggressive and his American counterpart returned the compliment.

According to the White House account of this telephone chat between old collegial adversaries, President Biden emphasized America's priorities to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific where the United States and China compete as strategic rivals. He spoke of "fundamental" concerns relating to Beijing's "coercive and unfair" trade practices, along with human rights issues that would include the crackdown in Hong Kong and the plight of Yuhgurs in Xinjiang, and Taiwan aggression.

Oh, and China's coronavirus response. Each and every point one that President Xi would have complacently batted off as of no concern to the United States considering these are internal issues of China's sovereign right. President Xi, chiding his American counterpart for rude commentary would have guided him toward 'right thinking' to re-establish methodology in the avoidance of misjudgements, Beijing's way, with all respect due to China's territorial integrity over which Washington would do well to proceed with caution.

While President Xi received President Biden's good wishes on the Chinese New Year, President Biden received President Xi's congratulations on hoisting former President Trump out of the White House. The true "thug" evacuating the premises, alluding to candidate Biden's unfortunate slip in ascribing the word "thug" to President Xi, as a fundamental tool in all political skirmishes to gain voter advantage. A focus to "pressure, isolate and punish China" would go nowhere, be of no concern to Beijing and ultimately be set aside for the nonce.

There is a resolution to maintain a more multilateral approach in cooperation with Beijing on issues such as climate change and placing pressure on North Korea's ambitions to achieve nuclear munitions. A bond ensues when two men share private meetings over the years eating up thousands of travel miles to do so. A convivial renewal of relationships between two perpetually smiling statesmen, can only be a good thing, we are to assume. Oh, and working together on COVID-19.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping take part in an official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, August 18, 2011.    Credit: Official White House Photo by David Lienemann