Chinese, U.S. presidents reach agreements on bilateral ties, discuss Ukraine issue

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BALI, Indonesia, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday reached a series of agreements on maintaining bilateral dialogue and coordination in various fields, and exchanged views on Ukraine issue.

Meeting ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia's resort island of Bali, the two presidents agreed that their respective diplomatic teams should maintain strategic communication and conduct regular consultations; their financial teams will continue dialogue and coordination on macroeconomic policies, economic ties and trade; and the two countries will jointly work for the success of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

They also reached common understandings on conducting dialogue and cooperation in public health, agriculture and food security, and agreed to make good use of the China-U.S. joint working group to promote the resolution of more issues. They also agreed that people-to-people exchange is very important, and pledged to encourage the expansion of such exchange in all sectors.

On the Ukraine crisis, Xi pointed out that China is highly concerned about the current situation in Ukraine. He noted the four points about what must be done he had proposed soon after the outbreak of the crisis and the four things the international community must do together he had suggested recently.

Xi said facing a global, composite crisis like the one in Ukraine, it is important to give serious thought to three points. First, conflicts and wars produce no winner; second, there is no simple solution to a complex issue; and third, confrontation between major countries must be avoided.

Xi said China has all along stood on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks. China supports and looks forward to a resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and hopes that the United States, NATO and the European Union will conduct comprehensive dialogues with Russia.

Both presidents viewed their meeting as in-depth, candid and constructive. They instructed their teams to promptly follow up and implement the important common understandings reached between them, and take concrete actions to put China-U.S. relations back on the track of steady development.

The two presidents agreed to maintain regular contact.