Xi, Biden agree to resume climate talks, play down chance of Cold War

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday agreed to restart climate negotiations, which had been frozen between the two super powers for months.

After meeting for more than three hours on Monday afternoon ahead of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the two leaders made a cautious promise to try to improve their sour relationship. Both seemed eager to downplay the notion that Washington and Beijing were headed towards another Cold War. “I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War,” Biden said.

One of the most contentious issues to be discussed at the meeting was Taiwan. It seemed to have been addressed positively. “I do not think there’s an imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan,” Biden said at a news conference later.

“China has Chinese-style democracy”

The underlying tension and mutual distrust between the leaders were palpable though. Biden’s dislike for dictatorship is well known. He has often been quoted as saying that people today need to choose between democracy and dictatorship, or find the world changed forever. Xi’s absolute hold over the world’s second largest economy is a reason of great discomfort for the US and other western powers.

“The so-called ‘democracy versus authoritarianism’ narrative is not the defining feature of today’s world, still less does it represent the trend of the times,” Xi told Biden, according to the Chinese state media reports.

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According to the reports, “Xi Jinping pointed out that freedom, democracy, and human rights are humanity’s common pursuit, and also the Chinese Communist Party’s constant pursuit. The United States has American-style democracy. China has Chinese-style democracy.”

Human rights groups, western leaders, media, and academics call the Chinese one-party system a dictatorship because it lacks an independent judiciary, free media, or universal suffrage. Critics of Xi and his party risk detention.

Last year, the US organized a virtual summit with over 100 world leaders on the topic of democracy versus authoritarianism. Xi was not invited, and Chinese officials had termed the event “divisive.”

Climate warriors welcome news

Although the world leaders left Monday’s meeting without finding common ground on some of the most contentious issues, at least the two biggest sources of fossil fuel emissions agreed to restart the climate dialogue. China in August suspended all dialogues with the US, including that around climate change, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip.

Also read: Xi Jinping insists on use of force to unify Taiwan, island responds

In their first face-to-face meeting as top leaders, Biden reportedly warned Xi that China’s aggressive stance towards Taiwan threatened stability in the region and could jeopardise global economy. Xi reportedly replied that Taiwan’s independence was as incompatible with peace and stability as “fire and water.”

About the global economy, Biden reportedly said he was not “looking for conflict.” “I’m looking to manage this (global economic) competition responsibly. I want to make sure that every country abides by the international rules of the road,” he emphasised.

China, in its official statement, said teams from each government would work on implementing the points of consensus and “promoting the return of China-US relations to a stable track of development.” The White House said Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to China.

Climate warriors welcomed the development. “This is good news for the climate talks and for climate action,” said Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, an environmental group based in Washington. “A lot is at stake,” said Li Shuo, a Beijing-based policy adviser for Greenpeace, an environmental group.

(With agency inputs)