“I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication,” Biden said at the start of the summit.

San Francisco: US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday in San Francisco and Xi said there is no option for US and China to turn their backs on each other.  “For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option,” Xi said in his opening remarks. He said planet earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed.

The summit, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), followed efforts between the US and China to increase high-level communication amid continued tensions.

“I think it’s paramount that you and I understand each other clearly leader to leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication,” Biden said at the start of the summit.

” Today, President Xi and I also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues, including Russia’s refusal to stop the war and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and conflict in Gaza. As I always do, I raised areas where the United States has concerns about the PRC’s actions, including detained and exit, banned US citizens, human rights, and coercive activities in the South China Sea. We discussed all three of those things. I gave them names of individuals that we think are being held, and hopefully, we can get them released as well…No agreement on that,” Biden said.

Xi arrived in the US on Tuesday (local time) and the meeting, occurring at an undisclosed estate, marked the first encounter between the two leaders in a year and Xi’s first visit to the US in six years.

This high-stakes meeting serves as a critical test for Biden and Xi, aiming to address the escalating tensions between the two nations amid global turbulence.

Despite months of friction, the fact that the meeting took place was considered a positive sign by White House aides.

The White House said the meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping will address hard issues such as fentanyl supplies coming in from Asia and a lack of military communication.

With this summit, President Biden aims to restore communications with China’s Jinping.

Biden, in his opening remarks, said competition between the US and China could not tilt towards conflict and added that his past meetings with Xi had been “candid, straightforward and useful.”

“As always, there is no substitute for face-to-face discussions. I’ve always found our discussions straightforward and frank,” Biden said.

Biden added that the leaders had a responsibility to their populations to work together, including on issues of climate change, countering narcotics trafficking and approaching artificial intelligence.

While Xi said in his remarks to Biden and the US delegation, “The world has emerged from the COVID pandemic but is still under its tremendous impacts. The global economy is recovering, but its momentum remains sluggish.”

The Chinese president also added that his country’s relationship with the U.S. has “never been smooth sailing” over the last 50 years “yet it has kept moving forward” with twists and turns.

According to a senior White House official, the leaders also engaged in discussions concerning the strategic direction of the bilateral relationship and the paramount importance of maintaining open lines of communication, including military-to-military dialogue.

Their agenda encompassed a wide spectrum of regional and global matters, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict and Indo-Pacific.

(With inputs from ANI)