China, US ‘should step up exchanges,’ Li tells Biden at G-20 summit

ISTANBUL

China’s Premier Li Qiang told US President Joe Biden at the G-20 summit in India that the two countries “should step up exchanges,” Beijing said on Monday.

According to Mao Ning, spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, Li had a “brief conversation” with the US president on the sidelines of the two-day summit in New Delhi which concluded on Sunday.

China’s development is an “opportunity” for Washington and “not a challenge,” Li told Biden, according to the transcript of the news conference released by the ministry.

“President Biden said that the US hopes to see China’s economy growing and will not hurt its growth,” Mao told reporters in Beijing.

Beijing’s statement came after Biden told a news conference in Vietnam on Sunday that he met Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “Number 2” during his visit to India where they attended the G-20 summit.

Biden was apparently referring to Li Qiang, who attended the 18th summit of the G-20 leaders in New Delhi.

Xi did not attend the summit.

“My team, staff still meets with president’s people,” Biden said about Washington’s engagement with Beijing.

“I hope I get to see Mr. Xi sooner than later,” Biden said.

“I’ve spent more time with him (Xi) than any other world leader has, sum total, over the last 12 years. So, I hope we get to see him again soon,” he added.

On what he discussed with Li, Biden said: “We talked about stability. We talked about making sure that the ... “Third World" – the Southern Hemisphere had access to change.”

“It wasn’t confrontational at all,” Biden said about his conversation with the Chinese premier.