Biden hails 'progress' but calls Xi a 'dictator'

The Star

U.S. President Joe Biden hailed "real progress" in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday (Nov 15), after the two sides agreed to beef up communications and work together on curbing the American opioid crisis, but a later comment referring to Xi as a "dictator" risks throwing a spanner in the works.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 A welcoming handshake set the scene for what US President Joe Biden called "major progress"

00:07 in his first face-to-face talks in a year with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

00:11 The two agreed on Wednesday to open a presidential hotline, to resume communications between

00:16 their militaries and to work together to curb the opioid crisis in America.

00:22 At the start of their four-hour meeting outside San Francisco, Biden stressed the need for

00:27 open dialogue.

00:28 "I think it's paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader to leader, with

00:35 no misconceptions or miscommunication.

00:38 We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.

00:43 And we also have to manage it responsibly, that competition."

00:46 Xi called US-China ties "the most important bilateral relationship in the world," saying

00:52 "turning their backs on each other is not an option."

00:55 The restart of military-to-military contacts is a significant breakthrough, as China had

01:00 severed those links after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.

01:07 And a deal to fight opioids was a key domestic win for Biden, with fentanyl a leading cause

01:13 of drug overdoses in the United States.

01:16 It's what he led a news conference with after the day's events.

01:19 "More people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 49 die from fentanyl than

01:24 from guns, car accidents or any other cause, period.

01:29 So today, with this new understanding, we're taking action to significantly reduce the

01:33 flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from China to the Western Hemisphere.

01:39 It's going to save lives and I appreciate President Xi's commitment on this issue."

01:44 A senior US official said that under the agreement, China will go directly after specific chemical

01:50 companies that make fentanyl precursors.

01:53 The pair also agreed to get experts together over the risks of artificial intelligence.

01:59 And Taiwan was discussed, the democratic island China claims as its territory.

02:04 A US official told reporters Xi described it as "the biggest, most potentially dangerous

02:10 issue in US-China ties."

02:12 According to the official, Xi said China prefers a "peaceful reunification" but went on to

02:19 talk about conditions in which force could be used.

02:22 While Biden responded that Washington was determined to maintain peace in the region.

02:28 Chinese state media reported that Xi also urged the US to stop sending weapons to Taiwan.

02:35 The leaders appeared to be trying to reduce friction.

02:38 But in a comment that may annoy Beijing, Biden later responded to a media question that he

02:43 hasn't changed his view that Xi is a dictator.

02:45 "Well, look, he is.

02:46 I mean, he's a dictator in the sense that he is the guy who runs a country that is a

02:53 communist country."

02:54 At a dinner with American executives that evening, Xi said China is ready to be a partner

02:59 and friend of the US, though the Chinese Foreign Ministry later called Biden's comment "extremely

03:05 wrong."

03:05 [END VIDEO PLAYBACK]

Category

Transcript

Recommended