President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday morning in what many see as the highlight of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The meeting took place at Filoli estate, a historical museum that includes a house and garden in Woodside south of San Francisco.
The public portion of the meeting began shortly after 11:20 a.m. with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seated at Biden’s side.
“It’s good to see you again. We spent many hours together over the last 10 or 12 years and to host you in the United States is a great pleasure,” Biden said at the start of the meeting.
Biden mentioned he hopes to cooperate with Xi and China going forward and thaw the tense relationship.
“We’ve known each other for a long time, we haven’t always agreed which is no surprise to anyone,” Biden added. “We have to ensure competition does not veer into conflict.”
Xi similarly acknowledged the strained relationship while hoping the meeting would lead to cooperation.
“We’ve known each other for a long time, we haven’t always agreed which is no surprise to anyone. We have to ensure competition does not veer into conflict.”
Pres. Biden
“Coming here I thought of your trip to China when I was the vice president of China. We had a meeting; it was 12 years ago. I still remember our interactions vividly. A lot has happened since then,” Xi said, mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recovery.
“The China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” Xi added.
Xi also said that the world is big enough for the two countries to succeed and said he hoped the two nations would coexist and find a path to get along, believing the future of the bilateral relationship will improve.
According to a White House senior official, the closed meeting will touch on issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea , the Russian invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.