The president was apparently responding to Xi’s recent consolidation of power.
President Biden congratulated Xi Jinping, seemingly on his recent consolidation of power during last month’s Chinese Communist Party National Congress, during their first in-person meeting as leaders. The exchange took place today on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Bali.
“You and I have had a number of candid and useful conversations over the years and since I became president as well,” Biden said at the start of their meeting, addressing the Chinese leader as “President Xi” and recounting their previous interactions while Biden was vice president. “You were kind enough to call me to congratulate me, and I congratulate you as well.” Although many Westerners refer to Xi as “president,” that’s a false title that grants the Party leader a semblance of democratic legitimacy. He’s more accurately referred to as general secretary, among his other official party and government titles.
Although it wasn’t immediately clear what Biden was congratulating Xi on, just a few weeks ago the Chinese leader secured a degree of political control unlike anything his immediate predecessors enjoyed.
While there was never any doubt that Xi would consolidate his grip on power, the recent Party Congress served as an attention-catching display of the Chinese leader’s uncontested power. The meeting concluded with the removal of former general secretary Hu Jintao from the meeting hall after he attempted to peer inside a folder that contained the names of the new leadership team.
Unlike the contentious March 2021 U.S.–China summit, where delegations representing the two countries sparred over Beijing’s human-rights atrocities and the issue of Taiwan, today’s meeting was considerably warmer. While Biden did raise those issues, the two leaders began the meeting with smiles and a handshake.
The U.S. summary of the meeting revealed that Biden and Xi tasked senior officials with continuing to maintain communication and seek cooperation on climate change, the stability of the global economy, international public health, and the food supply.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, the Chinese delegation harassed a U.S. journalist. According to a press-pool report from the meeting room this morning, a TV producer was “yanked” backwards and knocked off balance by a man from the Chinese side after asking Biden if he would press Xi on human rights. “Two White House staff members intervened saying the producer should be left alone,” per the pool report.