By Kyle Feldscher, Maureen Chowdhury, Kaanita Iyer and Tori B. Powell, CNN
President Joe Biden raised areas of concerns about China's actions as they relate to detained US citizens, human rights and "coercive activities in the South China Sea" with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Biden said he provided Xi with the names of those thought to be detained during their meeting Wednesday in California.
"Hopefully we can get them released as well," Biden said at a Wednesday news conference. "No agreement on that."
From CNN's Kaanita Iyer
President Joe Biden on Wednesday evening touted that his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping resulted in the resumption of communication between the US and Chinese militaries.
"We're back to direct, open, clear, direct communications," Biden said during a rare news conference following his summit with Xi. "Vital miscalculations on either side can cause real, real trouble with a country like China or any other major country."
The two countries have gradually been restoring communications after Beijing cut those ties in August 2022, following a visit from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
US President Joe Biden is speaking at a solo news conference in California following his meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.
From CNN’s Simone McCarthy
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on the United States to “not scheme to suppress or contain China” during extensive talks with President Joe Biden near San Francisco on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.
“China has no plans to surpass or unseat the United States, and the United States should not scheme to suppress or contain China,” Xi said, according to a readout released by China’s state agency Xinhua.
“Both sides should understand each other’s principles and bottom lines, not make or stir up trouble or cross boundaries, (but instead) communicate more, have more dialogue and more discussions, and handle differences and accidents calmly,” Xi said, according to the readout.
The two leaders “emphasized the need for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, maintaining communication and conflict prevention," according to Xinhua.
The meeting marked a significant step forward for the two powers, which have gradually been restoring communications after Beijing cut those ties in August 2022, following a visit from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
The two countries agreed to resume high-level military communication and cooperate on anti-drug crackdown, as well as resume meetings between their defense ministries and maritime military security consultations, and start talks between leaders of theatre commands, Xinhua said.
From CNN's Nectar Gan
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.
“China will eventually achieve reunification, and will inevitably achieve reunification,” Xi was quoted as saying in the readout.
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.
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
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.”
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
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.
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
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.
From CNN's Nectar Gan
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.
