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United States President Joe Biden said he does not want to restrain China, but Beijing wants to change the rules of the game in terms of trade. Photo/REUTERS
HANOI – United States (US) President Joe Biden on Sunday insisted that he did not want to rein in China as the two countries’ feud deepens over trade, security and human rights (HAM).
Biden said he had met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in New Delhi — a meeting that has not been announced by the White House — and discussed “stability.”
The US president revealed his meeting in Hanoi, where earlier in the day he agreed to a deal to deepen ties with Vietnam as Washington seeks to strengthen its network of allies in Asia and the Pacific in the face of Beijing’s rising influence.
Washington and Beijing are at odds on a range of global issues, and Biden has accused China of trying to bend the international order to its liking.
“One of the things that is happening right now is that China is starting to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues,” Biden said at a press conference, as quoted by AFP, Monday (11/9/2023).
Washington has invested heavily in building alliances as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, including the Quad security dialogue with India, Australia and Japan, as well as the AUKUS pact with the UK and Australia.
But he emphasized that the United States was not trying to contain China, but rather to set clear ground rules in relations.
“I don’t want to rein in China. I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that continues to improve, honestly, everyone knows what’s going on,” he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was absent from the G20 summit as Beijing and Delhi clashed over territorial and other issues.
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