America and China have agreed to resume military-to-military communications in an effort to ease rising tensions, President Joe Biden says.
“We’re back to direct, open, clear communications,” he said following a rare meeting with China’s President, Xi Jinping in California.
It was the first time the pair had spoken in person in more than a year.
But there were still signs of tension between the two as Biden repeated his view that Xi is a dictator.
China’s foreign ministry later criticised the remarks, but they do not appear to have taken the shine off what both sides are portraying as a largely successful meeting.
Biden also said both leaders had agreed to establish a direct line of communication with one another.
At a news conference following the summit, which took place at a historic country estate near San Francisco, Biden said a lack of communication was how accidents happen and added that both presidents could now pick up the phone and be directly heard immediately.
China severed military-to-military communications last year after then- America House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and has threatened to annex it by force if necessary.
Biden said that, while many disagreements remained between the pair, Xi had just been straight. He said the talks were some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had.
Speaking later at a dinner with U.S. business leaders, Xi spoke openly about wanting to pursue better relations with the U.S.
He said he and Biden agreed to continue on a path of diplomacy and co-operation.
“The door of China-U.S. relations cannot be closed again now that’s open. We need to build more bridges and pave more roads between each other,” he said.
But in a sign of how difficult relations still are, Biden, as he was exiting the stage, responded to a reporter’s question by saying he considered Xi a dictator.
“He’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country based on a form of government that is totally different from ours,” he said.
When Biden made a similar comment in June, Chinese officials reacted angrily and described it as extremely absurd and irresponsible.
Yesterday, China’s foreign ministry condemned Biden’s remark, saying the description was extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation.
It was a sour note in what is seen as an overall positive meeting between the two leaders.
The “dictator” remark was noticeably absent in state news agency Xinhua’s readout of the meeting. The readout – which can sometimes be an indication of how good or bad the Chinese government perceives relations to be – featured talk of substantial progress in bilateral ties.
As well as resuming military communications, the two sides announced several other agreements in areas that have become sources of tension in recent times.
These included taking steps to tackle the flow of fentanyl into the US, which has contributed to a rise in overdose deaths in the country.
Chinese manufacturing companies are a source not only of the synthetic opioid itself but of precursor chemicals which can be combined to make it. “We’re taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from China to the Western Hemisphere,” Mr Biden said.
Under the deal, China will directly target companies that are producing those precursor chemicals. “It will save lives,” Biden said.
