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Biden has 'open conversation' with China's Xi over nuclear war, Russia's Ukraine invasion

INDONESIA-US-CHINA-G20-SUMMIT US President Joe Biden (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 14, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden said that he had an “open and candid conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.

Following the meeting, which lasted over three hours, Biden said that the two were “clear” about not looking for conflict and that the U.S. and China would “work together when they can.”

The discussion took place in Bali, Indonesia, where the Group of 20 (G20) summit is being held. The talks were held alongside the formal meeting with the leaders of the 20 biggest economies.

Biden and Xi greeted each other with a handshake in front of reporters ahead of their meeting. "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 becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation," Biden said.

During the talks, Biden stressed that both China and the U.S. should work on "transnational challenges" such as climate change, health security and global food security. A readout of the meeting published by the White House said that Biden also said the U.S. would oppose "any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side" on Xi's "One China" policy regarding Taiwan's independence. This means that the U.S. still acknowledges Beijing's claim over its neighboring island nation — reiterating Biden's comments about the U.S.'s position made at the U.N. in September.

On Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both leaders repeated their agreement that "a nuclear war should never be fought." This comes after the news that CIA Director William Burns would be meeting his Russian counterpart in Turkey on Monday to warn against the potential use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

"He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability," a White House spokeswoman said.

Biden also raised concerns about North Korea's "provocative behavior" after it fired several missiles earlier this month.

The president said that he discussed China’s human rights record with Xi and said that it was a priority for his administration that the cases of detained American citizens in the People’s Republic were resolved.

Biden announced that both he and Xi agreed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit China to follow up on the discussions.

It was the first face-to-face meeting since both became leaders of their respective countries. They had met previously as vice presidents in 2011 when Biden visited China.

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