Committed to 'managing' China-US ties 'responsibly', Biden assures Xi Jinping

Committed to 'managing' China-US ties 'responsibly', Biden assures Xi Jinping

US President Joe Biden on January 1 assured his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that he is committed to "managing" the bilateral ties "responsibly" as the two leaders exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The two presidents met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco in November and agreed to cool down the raging tensions between the top two economies of the world.

In his message to Xi, Biden said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979, the ties between the US and China have facilitated prosperity and opportunities for both the countries and the world.

Biden said he is committed to "managing this important relationship responsibly", adding that he looks forward to continuing advancing the US-China relationship based on the progress made by the predecessors of the two leaders and through multiple meetings and discussions between the two heads of state, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Their summit took place after a comprehensive round of talks between high-level officials of the two countries.

In his letter, Xi urged Biden to earnestly implement the outcomes of the summit, saying history has already proven and will continue to fully prove that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the right way for China and the US to get along with each other as two major countries.

Xi pointed out that he and Biden, during their meeting in San Francisco, laid out a future-oriented "San Francisco Vision," charting the course for the development of China-US relations.

He called on China and the United States to earnestly implement the important common understandings and outcomes reached by the two heads of state, and take concrete actions to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations.

Xi stressed that he is willing to work with Biden to continue to steer the course of China-US relations to benefit the two countries and their people and promote the cause of world peace and development.

During their summit, Xi and Biden agreed to resume high-level military communications which were severed after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. China views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified, even by force.

The meeting between Xi and Biden marked the first time the rival leaders have spoken in person in more than a year.

Relations plummeted when the US accused China of sending a spy balloon across its airspace in February last year, but have since started improving. PTI KJV ZH AKJ ZH ZH