President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in the coming days where Xi is reported to already be attempting to lay out the ground rules between the two powers going forward.
CNBC reports the two are set to convene in a virtual meeting as early as this week, with XI indicating a willingness to work with the U.S., providing he sees what he deems as mutual respect.
“Right now, China-U.S. relations are at a critical historical juncture,” Xi said in a letter addressed to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a New York-based nonprofit. “Following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, China stands ready to work with the United States to enhance exchanges and cooperation across the board,” he said in the letter.
While adding the two countries need to “properly manage differences, so as to bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track of sound and steady development,” Xi also noted that China is open to working with the U.S. to “address regional and international issues as well as global challenges.”
Xi’s tone was a step back from some of the harsher stances other Chinese officials have taken over the last several months as he has sought to consolidate his power base across the region. He recently paved the way for his ongoing reign by abolishing presidential term limits.
Relations between the two powers have frayed in recent times, with some of the friction coming after former President Donald Trump began to take what some perceived to be a tougher stance on China, beginning with trade.
Changes enacted by the Trump administration included imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of imports from China and placing numerous Chinese tech companies on a blacklist that essentially bans them from purchasing needed goods from U.S. merchants.