President Joe Biden met with Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping as the pair attended the G-20 summit in Indonesia.
The meeting marked the first time they’d met in person since Biden took office. With some of China’s largest cities remaining under strict COVID-19 lockdowns, this is only Jinping’s second international trip since the pandemic began.
Jinping admitted that the world is dealing with “challenges,” but failed to mention the virus that continues plaguing the world and undisputedly came from within his borders.
Biden-Xi meeting did not mention COVID-19 pandemic, according to White House https://t.co/9XK3Es3Wsi
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 14, 2022
“Humanity is confronted with unprecedented challenges,” began Jinping. “The world has come to a crossroads. Where to go from here — this is a question that is not only on our mind but also on the mind of all countries.”
Taiwan, a coastal nation independent of Chinese rule, has been the topic of much discussion as of late. Taiwan’s geographic location is extremely vital to China from a military perspective, as is with the U.S. China has held firm with an aggressive approach, while the White House has repeatedly walked back Biden’s claims that the U.S. would defend against a Chinese invasion.
Biden and Jinping both maintained diplomatic dialogue while addressing the public before the meeting, neither mentioning Taiwan.
“I look forward to working with you, Mr. President, to bring China-U.S. relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth to the benefit of our two countries and the world as a whole,” Xinping said.
Taiwan was discussed behind closed doors, however.
“On Taiwan, he laid out in detail that our one China policy has not changed, the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and the world has an interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” reads a White House report.
“He raised U.S. objections to the PRC’s coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan, which undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardize global prosperity.”
