Journalist’s clash with diplomat mars Biden and Xi’s meeting
Presidents share ‘blunt exchanges’ after reporter who asked about human rights was manhandled
A MEMBER of the Chinese G20 delegation yanked and shoved a US journalist as she tried to ask about human rights, in a scuffle that overshadowed the first in-person talks between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping as leaders.
White House officials were forced to intervene as an unnamed US television producer was pulled backwards by her backpack, causing her to lose her balance, before being pushed towards the door by an unidentified Chinese official.
The incident on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali came as the US president and Mr Xi sought to repair a bilateral relationship that has sunk to new lows as the world’s two most powerful nations have battled over trade, technology, Taiwan and the war on Ukraine.
Mr Biden said afterwards that the two were “very blunt with one another” but stressed that they wanted to “prevent competition from turning into conflict”.
Progress appeared to have been made after almost three hours of talks.
On Ukraine, both leaders “reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won, and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons” in the conflict, the White House said.
The pair also agreed to restart talks between their countries as part of international climate negotiations.
“As the leaders of our two nations, we share responsibility, in my view, to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from turning into conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Xi struck a similar tone, saying the two nations needed “to chart the right course”.
“We need to find the right direction for the bilateral relationship going forward,” he said. “The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,” adding that he looked forward to working with Mr Biden.
There were, however, areas of real disagreement, most notably on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, although Mr Biden said he doesn’t believe there is an “imminent attempt” by China to invade the island.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, last night left open the possibility that he could meet Mr Xi. He said: “Like all the other leaders, hopefully I will have a chance to talk to him.”