Xi says he will work with Trump team when meeting with Biden in Peru

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Saturday to work with the new U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump in his final talks with outgoing President Joe Biden on key conflicts ranging from cybercrime to trade to Taiwan and China. Russia.

Biden met with Xi for about two hours at a hotel where the Chinese leader was staying, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, for their first talks.in seven months.

China's goal of establishing stable, healthy and lasting China-U.S. relations remains unchanged after the election, Xi said, acknowledging the ups and downs between the two countries. China is ready to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage disputes.

Biden told Xi that the two leaders did not always see eye to eye but that their discussions had been frank and frank.

The talks take place two months before Trump's term. He vowed to adoptgeneral rates of 60%on U.S. imports of Chinese goods as part of a package of America First trade measures. Beijing opposes these measures. The Republican president-elect also plans to hire severalhawkish voices on Chinain leadership positions, including U.S. Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Representative Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor.

Biden has sought to reduce tensions with China, but Washington is angered by a recentHack linked to Chinatelephone communications from U.S. government and presidential campaign officials, and he is concerned about Beijing's growing pressure on Taiwan and Chinese support for Russia.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te plans to stop in the U.S. state of Hawaii and possibly Guam.a sensitive visitThis is sure to anger Beijing in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Friday. Meanwhile, former Taiwanese Economy Minister Lin Hsin-i met with Biden at the summit on Friday andinvited him to visitTaiwan in the near future.

China considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory. The United States is Taiwan's main international financier and arms supplier, despite lacking formal diplomatic recognition.

Biden also wants China's help with North Korea, whose deepening ties with Russia and deployment of troops in the war with Ukraine worries Washington.

China's economic blow

At the same time,Beijing's economyis hit hard by Biden's trade measures, including a plan torestrict American investmentsin Chinese artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors andexport restrictionson high-end computer chips. All of these topics should be at the heart of the discussions, US officials said.

China regularly denies US hacking allegations, views Taiwan as an internal issue and has protested US statements on Sino-Russian trade. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

When the two countries treat each other as partners and friends, seek common ground while putting aside differences, and help each other succeed, our relations will see considerable progress, Xi said during the meeting with Mr. Biden, according to simultaneous translation.

But if we see each other as rivals or adversaries, if we pursue vicious competition and seek to harm each other, we will ruin the relationship, or even set it back.

On Wednesday, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, described the transition as a moment where competitors and adversaries can see possible opportunity. Biden emphasizes with Xi the need to maintain stability, clarity and predictability throughout this transition between the United States and China.

Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations specialist, said China wants the meeting to ease tensions during the transition period. China definitely does not want relations with the United States to be upended before Trump officially takes office, Shen said.

Pacific region leaders at APEC summit weigh implications ofTrump returns to poweron January 20, he will become president of the United States. The South American summit offers new signs of the challenges to U.S. power in its own backyard, where China is waging a charm offensive.

Xi, arriving in Lima on Thursday, plans a week-long diplomatic campaign in Latin America that will include a refurbished free trade agreement.agreement with Peruinaugurating the Chancay massifdeep water portthere and to be welcomed to the Brazilian capital next week for a state visit. China also announced plans to host the APEC summit in 2026.

China is seeking metal ores, soybeans and other products from Latin America, but U.S. officials fear they are also seeking new military and intelligence outposts adjacent to the United States. China's state-backed media called the accusations defamation.

A U.S. official said Washington's engagement in the region was strong and Chinese overseas infrastructure investment had declined in recent years due to domestic challenges and project issues.

But Ryan Berg, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said Xi would receive a good reception in the region.

Biden's trip will very clearly be overshadowed by whatever Xi Jinping does during his APEC visit, he said. When Xi meets with Biden, part of his audience is not just the White House or the U.S. government. It's about American CEOs and continued American investment, or trying to renew American investment in China and get rid of the perception that there is a hostile business environment in China.