Biden issues warning on China's trade policy in private meeting with Xi at Peru summit

President Joe Biden pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping in a private meeting Saturday on the People's Republic of China's unfair trade policies after President-elect Donald Trump made stopping the country's trade practices a key to his winning program.

The outgoing Biden, 81, stressed that federal officials would take necessary steps to intercept any use of advanced technologies that compromise the national security of the United States or its allies. the White House said in a statement.

Biden met Xi at the Chinese leaders' hotel for the third and final time of his presidency, at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South America.

The private discussion came after Biden made a major mistake in his public comments to Xi, calling the relationship between the two countries an alliance, before quickly correcting himself.

“We are the most important alliance or the most important relationship in the world, and how we get along can impact the rest of the world,” Biden said, according to several media outlets.

“Our two countries cannot therefore let this competition degenerate into conflict. This is our responsibility and over the last four years I think we have proven that it is possible to maintain this relationship.

Xi appeared to express concern that the Republican president-elect could create a divide in China-U.S. relations when he regains control of the White House, according to multiple media reports.

China is willing to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to move toward a smooth transition of China-U.S. relations for the benefit of the two peoples, Xi said through the intermediary of an interpreter.

Trump, 78, has threatened to resume his trade war with China, waged during his first term, in an effort to negotiate a new economic pact that would benefit American businesses.

It now calls for a universal 10-20% tariff on all imports into the United States from all countries and an additional 60% tariff on all imports from China.

Trump also called for a global COVID-19 reparations conference, at which the Chinese government could be charged trillions for its role in the origins of the pandemic that has killed more than a million people. Americans.

Last year, Trump also proposed forcing China to pay $50 trillion in reparations for the virus, which some parts of the U.S. government, including the FBI, said came from a lab leak from Wuhan.

Behind closed doors, Biden and Xi discussed a series of controversial issues, including the economy, cybersecurity, Taiwan and Ukraine, for which Biden condemned North Korea for deploying thousands of troops to Russia, according to the White House.

The two leaders also agreed to assess the risks of artificial intelligence, maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons, preserve an open line of communication and reduce China's production of fentanyl.

An estimated 223,000 Americans died of the medicine mainly coming from China during Biden's first three years in office and Republicans have criticized him for not doing sooner to stop the flow.

Biden and Xi began their day at the 21-nation summit in Lima, Peru, where dignitaries donned brown scarves, part of the summit ritual in which world leaders wear traditional clothing of the host country, to a photo shoot.

Biden was relegated to the back of the conference's annual family photo while Xi enjoyed a front-and-center position alongside Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

The outgoing president, who leaves office on January 20, is expected to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the annual G20 summit of leaders of the world's most economically prosperous countries.