US Vice President Kamala Harris and China’s Xi Jinping met briefly on the sidelines of an Asian summit, in another signal of easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies, Bloomberg reports.
Harris said in a tweet that she used the exchange at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Saturday in Bangkok to stress the need for open lines of communication to responsibly manage competition. That reiterated a message delivered by President Joe Biden during his own meeting with Xi on Monday in Indonesia, where they agreed to restore dialogue across a range of sectors.
Xi told Harris that the meeting with Biden was “strategic and constructive, and gives important guidance to the next stage of China-US relations,” according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“I hope both sides will step up mutual understanding, reduce misunderstanding and misjudgment, and together push for Sino-US relations to return to a health and stable track,” Xi said. “I hope Madam Vice President can help actively with this.”
Both governments have sought to repair deteriorating ties over issues including Taiwan, human rights and technology restrictions. While those issues remain sticking points, the shift in tone helped lift Chinese stocks and the yuan.
“I’m not suggesting this is kumbaya, you know, everybody’s going to go away with everything in agreement,” Biden told reporters in Bali after his meeting with Xi. However, he added, “I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War.”
Harris is attending the APEC meetings in Thailand on behalf of Biden, who left Asia after the G-20. The US vice president announced Saturday that next year’s APEC gathering will be held in San Francisco, in her home state of California.
In a speech Friday, Harris tried to persuade Asian nations that the US was their most valuable economic partner, with the Biden administration wary of China’s inroads in the region. “America’s approach to these relationships is based on collaboration, sustainability, transparency and fairness,” she said.
Xi met with more than 20 world leaders during his time at the Asian summits this week, signaling intentions to mend relations with close US allies such as Japan and Australia. On Thursday, Xi offered a competing vision for the region’s economy and security.
“The Asia-Pacific is no one’s backyard and should not become an arena for big power contest,” Xi said in written remarks to the APEC CEO Summit.
