Biden meets with China's President Xi

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden the United States should “take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan Independence’,” Chinese state media reported.

In the two leaders’ meeting, Xi urged the US to stop arming Taiwan and support China’s “peaceful reunification,” according to a readout released by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

The Chinese leader also noted that the Taiwan issue has always been “the most important and sensitive issue” in US-China relations, according to Xinhua.

Xi’s remarks on Taiwan come as the self-ruled island is gearing up for a key presidential election in January, where tensions with China are set to be a top item on the campaign agenda.

China's ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as its territory, despite never having controlled the island of 23 million people. Xi has vowed to never renounce the use of force to “reunify” with Taiwan.

President Joe Biden did most of the talking as Chinese President Xi Jinping mostly listened in their conversation about the Middle East, a senior US official said.

Biden encouraged Xi to use China’s leverage with Iran to warn against a wider escalation. In the talks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said they’d already held discussions with the Iranians on the topic.

It remained unclear to Biden’s aides afterward how seriously Iran was taking China’s messages.

Biden made clear to Xi during the talks that he viewed Hamas as separate from the Palestinians.

The men had a “substantial” exchange on Taiwan and Xi made clear that concerns over the island were the biggest and most dangerous issue in US-China relations.

Xi said China’s preference was for peaceful reunification and laid out conditions under which use of force would be utilized. Biden responded by reiterating the US position was to maintain peace and stability in the region.

“President Xi responded, 'Look, peace is all well and good, but at some point we need to move towards resolution more generally,'” the official said.

In the meeting, the US asked China to respect Taiwan’s electoral process in the lead-up to a vote in January.

Despite continuing US concerns about China’s massive military buildup around Taiwan, officials emerged from the meeting believing Xi was not preparing for a massive invasion.

Over the course of the meeting, Xi “revealed quite clearly a deep knowledge of some of the debates about China in the United States and I think in some respects, he’s quite sensitive to come of those discussions.”

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s summit talks in California were “very direct” and included more back-and-forth discussion between the two men than their meeting a year ago, a senior US official said.

Biden was “very direct” with Xi on a number of topics, the official said, while Xi also raised his concerns about rhetoric inside the United States about China.

At one point, Xi told Biden he believed there was unfair negative publicity about the Chinese Communist Party in the United States.

In one exchange about restrictions the US has applied on technology exports to China, Xi likened the steps to “technological containment.” Biden responded by saying the US was not going to provide technology to China that could be used militarily against it.

Biden also raised direct concerns to Xi about harassment of American businesses in China, the official said.

The two men discussed artificial intelligence and agreed to work together moving ahead on the new technology. 

And Biden told Xi it was important for China to be more transparent on nuclear issues, as it rapidly expands its arsenal.

Biden did not “pull any punches,” the official said, noting Xi experiences little pushback within the Chinese system.

Biden was “respectful” but “clear.”

The moments of tension, however, were interspersed with some levity. When Biden wished Xi’s wife a happy birthday (which happens to fall on the same day as Biden’s birthday next week), Xi said he’d been working so hard he’d forgotten.

He thanked Biden for reminding him. 

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to take steps to curb fentanyl production and restore military communication during their summit Wednesday, a senior US official told CNN.

Biden also made clear China should lean on Iran to avoid steps that would aggravate the tense situation in the Middle East. The leaders also stressed that they wanted to stabilize their countries’ relationship after months of heightened tension.

The results, which were expected ahead of the talks, amount to progress in improving the still-tense US-China relationship but they stopped short of a joint statement or other declaration of cooperation.

The senior US official said China agreed to go after companies who produce precursor chemicals to fentanyl, the powerful narcotic that has fueled a drug crisis in the United States. The US will watch closely to see if China follows up on the commitments made in the summit.

Xi also agreed to mechanisms that would address potential military miscalculations and agreed to forums for the two sides to present their concerns.

Senior administration officials said leading up to Wednesday’s summit that their Chinese counterparts had been “reluctant” over the past few months to agree to re-establishing military-to-military communications.

But it was an issue that Biden himself -- and his top advisers like Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin -- raised in “nearly every conversation we’ve had with the Chinese,” as the US tried to underscore that it was “absolutely critical” that this channel be re-opened.

US officials said that the Chinese spy balloon incident, in particular, underscored the importance of military-to-military communications.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden agreed to resume high-level military communication and cooperate on anti-drug crackdown following their hours-long summit, Chinese state media reported.

The leaders agreed to “resume high-level communication between the two militaries on the basis of equality and respect,” according to a readout released by China’s state agency Xinhua. The two sides will also resume meetings between their defense ministries and maritime military security consultations and start talks between leaders of theatre commands.

The two sides also agreed to establish an anti-drug working group to carry out anti-drug cooperation, as well as an intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence, Xinhua reported.

The two leaders also pledge to further increase flights early next year and expand exchanges in education, international students, and the culture, sports and business sectors, according to Xinhua.

US President Joe Biden's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping has concluded, the White House said.

The two presidents began their meeting just after 2 p.m. ET. Following opening remarks, several sessions and a working lunch, the two leaders closed out with a walk around the historic estate south of San Francisco.

Biden told reporters during the walk that the talks were going "well," and added on social media that "real progress" was made.

Biden is expected to hold a solo press conference in the 7 p.m. ET hour.

US President Joe Biden said on social media he has made "real progress" in his talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Biden and Xi have been meeting for hours at a historic estate south of San Francisco.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping took a walk following their working lunch on Wednesday.

The men walked very slowly side-by-side down a brick walkway, each wearing their suit jackets. 

They did not have a translator with them and did not appear in heavy conversation, aside from Biden pointing out something in the trees.

Biden waved with both hands to reporters. When asked how talks were going, he made a thumbs-up sign and said: “Well.”

Biden is expected to hold a solo press conference once the summit has concluded. The two presidents began their meeting just after 2 p.m. ET.

President Joe Biden’s news conference Wednesday in the Bay Area will mark the president’s 32nd news conference since taking office, according to CNN's analysis. 

It is rare for Biden to hold a solo news conference: This marks his 14th solo news conference since taking office, and the third solo news conference of 2023. He has held 18 joint news conferences alongside another world leader. 

The average length of Biden’s solo news conferences is 38 minutes – the longest was 111 minutes and shortest was 16 minutes.

Former President Donald Trump, by contrast, held 88 news conferences overall during his presidency, and at the same point in his presidency, he had held 54 news conferences, per an analysis of University of California-Santa Barbara data. Former President Barack Obama held 163 news conferences and had held 63 at this point in his presidency. And former President George W. Bush held 210 news conferences during his presidency, and 62 at this point in his presidency. 

Recent presidents who had held fewer news conferences at this point include former President Ronald Reagan, at 20, and former President Richard Nixon, at 22.