President Biden committed to pursuing practical,
results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American
people and those of our allies,” the White House said”
President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for
the first time Wednesday night since taking office, outlining his administration’s
"core concerns" with China’s "practices, aggressive activities
and abuses," signaling a "clear and consistent subscription to
American values," while discussing areas in which the administration
believes it could be in the United States’ national interest to work with
Beijing, senior administration officials said.
In a statement Wednesday night, the White House said Biden
"shared his greetings and well wishes with the Chinese people on the
occasion of Lunar New Year."
"President Biden affirmed his priorities of protecting
the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and
preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said.
"President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s
coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses
in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward
Taiwan."
The White House said Biden and Xi "also exchanged views
on countering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shared challenges of global health
security, climate change, and preventing weapons proliferation."
"President Biden committed to pursuing practical,
results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American
people and those of our allies," the White House said.
