NUSA DUA, Indonesia — President Joe Biden on Monday expressed confidence that a “new Cold War” can be avoided with China and that Beijing is not planning an “imminent” invasion of U.S. ally Taiwan.
The president’s assessment to reporters followed his first in-person talks with his Chinese counterpart since assuming office, and came after the leaders pledged to “manage” their fierce global competition. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping portrayed Monday’s meeting as an attempt to revive lines of communication and understand each other’s intentions, goals and red lines.
The two leaders, while exchanging greetings and shaking hands for the cameras, appeared relaxed and friendly despite a nadir in relations between the world’s two largest economies. “We were candid and clear with one another across the board,” Biden said after three hours of closed-door talks.
