Open Indo-pacific is a priority, Biden tells Xi

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, including toward Taiwan”, the White House said in a statement. Xi said confrontation would be a “disaster”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry’s account of the call, which took place on Thursday.