Handshakes open Biden-Xi summit

Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping set aside differences

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping opened their high-stakes summit in Bali with a handshake on Monday, and with both men stressing the need to manage differences and avoid conflict.

“The world has come to a crossroads,” Xi said vowing a “candid” discussion of issues that have riven relations between the world’s two leading powers.

“The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,” he said.

For his part, Biden greeted Xi with a smile that belied the growing competition between the nation that has defined the last century and a rival that seeks to define the next one.

Biden said he wanted the US and China to “manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict.”