Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to work with the government of US President-elect Donald Trump in his latest conversation with Joe Biden, who is stepping down from the White House in two months, Reuters reported, citing from BTA.
The two leaders met in Lima on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and discussed a number of issues causing tension, such as cybercrime, trade, relations with Taiwan and Russia, among others. Biden and Xi had not spoken since April.
"China's goal of stable, healthy and sustainable Sino-US relations remains unchanged" after the election, Xi said, acknowledging the "ups and downs" in bilateral relations. "China is willing to work with the new US government to maintain communication, expand cooperation and control differences.
Biden, for his part, told his Chinese counterpart that while they did not always agree, the discussions between the two were always "honest" and "forfeited".
Trump, who will take office on January 20, has vowed to impose a total of 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States. Beijing has opposed such measures. In addition, the newly elected president from the Republican Party has nominated politicians known for their hard-line positions on China to top government posts, Reuters notes. Among them are Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Mike Walz, a member of the House of Representatives from Florida, who was nominated to be the White House national security adviser.
Throughout his administration, Biden has sought to ease tensions with China, but Washington has recently been angered by a China-linked hacking attack on the telephone communications of US government officials and campaign headquarters. In addition, the US is concerned about Beijing's increasing pressure on Taiwan and its support for Russia, adds Reuters.
Taiwan's President William Lai plans to visit the US state of Hawaii and possibly Guam in the coming weeks, and the visit is sure to spark resentment in Beijing. Also, earlier on Saturday, Taiwan's representative to the ATIS summit spoke with Biden and invited him to visit the island in the near future.
China regards the democratically governed Taiwan as its territory. The US is Taiwan's most important international supporter and arms supplier.