Reuters. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden talked over phone on Thursday, greeted each other on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year and made in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral ties and major international and regional issues.
Confrontation between China and the United States would be a disaster, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in their first telephone call as leaders, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday (February 11).
The call on Thursday Asia time, but Wednesday (February 10) in Washington, was the first since Biden took office and comes as Beijing and Washington clash over issues from trade, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, Taiwan and reports of human rights crimes against Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
Xi reiterated during the call that cooperation was the only choice and that the two countries need to promote the "healthy development" of bilateral relations, CCTV said. Xi also told Biden that he hopes the United States will cautiously handle matters related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang that deal with matters of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Biden extended greetings to the Chinese people and wished the Chinese people happiness and good fortune in the New Year. Xi once again congratulated Biden on his inauguration as U.S. president, and wished the Chinese and American people a happy and auspicious Year of the Ox.