Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

OPEN INDOPACIFI­C IS A PRIORITY, BIDEN TELLS XI

- HT Correspond­ents letters@hindustant­imes.com

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpar­t Xi Jinping held their first telephone call as leaders, with Biden saying a free and open Indo-Pacific was a priority and Xi warning confrontat­ion would be a “disaster” for both nations.

Biden also underscore­d his “fundamenta­l concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair practices, its crackdown in Hong Kong, reported human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasing­ly assertive actions in the region,” the White House said in a statement. Xi said confrontat­ion would be a “disaster”, according to Chinese foreign ministry’s account of the call.

BEIJING/WASHINGTON: Confrontat­ion between China and the US will be disastrous for both countries and the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned Joe Biden in their first phone call since the latter took charge as the American president.

Biden raised with Xi the issue of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, crackdown in Hong Kong, and Beijing’s increasing assertiven­ess on Taiwan.

The phone call came on the eve of the Lunar New Year, the biggest festival in China. Biden tweeted after the phone call, “I told him I will work with China when it benefits the American people.”

In a statement, the White House said Biden “underscore­d his fundamenta­l concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasing­ly assertive actions in the region, including towards Taiwan”.

Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as telling Biden that those issues were China’s internal affairs. “The Taiwan question and issues relating to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, etc are China’s internal affairs and concern China’s sovereignt­y and territoria­l integrity, and the US side should respect China’s core interests and act prudently.”

Xi said while the two sides may differ on some issues, it is crucial to show mutual respect, treat each other as equals, and properly handle difference­s in a constructi­ve fashion.

“When China and the US work together, they can accomplish a great deal for the good of both countries and the world at large. Confrontat­ion between the two countries, however, will definitely be disastrous for both countries and the world,” Xi said.

Thursday’s interactio­n came after Biden announced the formation of a China Task Force at the defence department to “chart a strong path forward on Chinarelat­ed matters”. Biden made the announceme­nt during his first visit to the Pentagon, saying the task force will “look at our strategy and operationa­l concepts, technology, and force posture”.

 ?? AP/FILE ?? President Xi Jinping
AP/FILE President Xi Jinping

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