Chinese President Xi Jinping says he is ready to work with his US counterpart Donald Trump to strengthen relations

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told US President Joe Biden he is ready to work with Donald Trump to improve relations between the world's largest economies.

Speaking in their last meeting before Trump took office, Xi told Biden that the United States and China should not pursue decoupling and instead strive for a peaceful existence in the long term.

China is willing to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences, so as to work for a smooth transition of China-U.S. relations for the benefit of the two peoples, Xi said through a translator during the meeting. in Lima, Peru.

Only solidarity and cooperation can help humanity overcome current difficulties, Xi added. In a time of flourishing scientific and technological revolution, neither decoupling nor disrupting the supply chain is a solution.

Biden, speaking in response, said he was very proud of the progress made between the two sides.

These conversations avoid miscalculations and ensure that competition between our two countries does not escalate into conflict, the US leader said.

The meeting is expected to be the last official meeting between the two men, whose relationship dates back more than a decade to when they were both vice presidents of their countries, and comes at a time of heightened uncertainty and tension .

Biden has just two months before ceding power to Trump, who has threatened to impose 60% tariffs on China, a level that risks decimating trade between the world's largest economies. Early appointments by the president-elect, including China hawks Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Mike Waltz for national security adviser, suggest he is preparing to take an antagonistic stance toward Beijing .

Biden and Xi have sought to stabilize relations and build on a summit a year ago in San Francisco, which restored ties after his administration shot down a Chinese spy balloon drifting over the area continental United States and that former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, prompting Beijing to maintain relations. military exercises around the island. Taiwan remains the biggest point of military tension between the United States and China, and the most sensitive issue for Xi.

Yet many tensions remain after four tumultuous years in which both nations took steps to become more self-reliant in anticipation of potential conflict, even if one is not inevitable or planned. The Biden administration has moved to deny Beijing advanced AI chips and other technologies, putting pressure on U.S. allies to comply with export controls designed to ensure that the United States United maintains its military superiority over China.

Ahead of the meeting, a senior U.S. official said Biden should warn Xi that attacks on critical U.S. networks would only lead to further decoupling of Chinese-sourced technology. Chinese state-sponsored hacking of US telecommunications systems aims to steal call records and communications of US political candidates and aides, including those from Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaigns expanded to T- Mobile US Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. China has denied any attempt to interfere in US politics.

More broadly, Biden aides described Saturday's meeting as an opportunity to fact-check areas of concern. Top of the list is China's support for Russia's defense industrial base, which has helped Vladimir Putin continue his war in Ukraine. Biden met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea on Friday to discuss their concerns about growing regional support for Russia, including North Korea's recent deployment of troops to support the country's war effort. Russia.

The strengthening of the alliance between Putin and Kim Jong Un becomes a headache for Xi. Although he has supported both Russia and North Korea, Xi has sought to present Beijing as neutral regarding the war in Ukraine and has pushed for improved ties with the United States and its allies, including to ensure that exports continue to support the struggling Chinese economy. The Kim-Putin partnership risks adding economic pressure on China and undermines Xi's argument that the United States should not have military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden's team is also eager to avoid conflicts erupting in the South China Sea or between China and Taiwan, which pose the greatest risk to the new administration, the national security adviser White House, Jake Sullivan.

It would be catastrophic for everyone involved: for Taiwan, for Beijing, for us, for the world, Sullivan said Thursday. I wouldn't necessarily say, given the way we've managed cross-strait relations, that this should be a subject of increased risk in 2025, but because of the scale of the risk, even if it's not not so likely, it's something that needs to be taken into account. at the top of the agenda.

For Xi, the meeting is also an opportunity to take stock of the relationship, as he considers how to prepare his country for a possible tariff shock when Trump returns to the White House. China's manufacturing surge has helped propel export growth to its fastest level in two years, supporting an economy grappling with a prolonged housing slump and deflation.

While China saw some recovery in domestic demand in October after gradual stimulus measures, massive tariffs risk shaving several percentage points off annual economic growth. Xi on Friday expressed full confidence that the target of around 5 percent for this year can be achieved.

Faced with this looming threat, Xi spent much of the APEC summit positioning China as a more reliable free trade partner. He met with various U.S. allies and partners and inaugurated a new $1.3 billion deep-water port in Peru, while calling on APEC leaders to tear down walls that impede trade, investment , technology and services.

Xi also announced that he would host the APEC summit in 2026, which would be an opportunity for Trump to potentially visit China.