US, China Stress Need For Maintaining Open Strategic Communication Channels

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (KUNA) -- President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping stressed the need for maintaining open channels for strategic communication to manage their important ties.
This affirmation comes around two months prior to the arrival of the new administration led by President-elect Donald Trump.
According to a White House statement, President Biden met with President Xi in Lima, Peru, on the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2024 Forum with this meeting being the third between the two Presidents and follows their April 2, 2024, telephone call.
President Biden underscored that US investment in sources of strength at home and alignment with partners and allies around the world have been central to his Administration's foreign policy approach.
He welcomed efforts to maintain open channels of communication with the PRC to manage competition responsibly and prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation.
The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relationship over the past four years and took stock of efforts to responsibly manage competitive aspects of the relationship and advance areas of cooperation since the Woodside Summit in November 2023, including counter narcotics, military-military communication, artificial intelligence-related risks, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges.
On counter narcotics, both sides affirmed the importance of continued coordinated law enforcement actions, information exchanges to identify new and emerging drug trends, and regulatory actions.
President Biden welcomed the China's scheduling of 55 dangerous synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, closure of online platforms and companies that supply precursor chemicals, and arrests connected to the illicit chemical industry, and he called for additional steps in the period ahead. Both sides welcomed the resumption over the last year of high-level military-to-military communications, the US-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks, US-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and engagements between theater commanders.
Both leaders affirmed the need to continue these channels of communication.
Building on a candid and constructive dialogue on AI and co-sponsorship of each other's resolutions on AI at the United Nations General Assembly, the two leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of AI systems, improve AI safety and international cooperation, and promote AI for the good of all.
The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.
The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.
The two leaders also exchanged views on key regional and global challenges.
Building on the 2022 Bali, Indonesia, and the 2023 Woodside, California, meetings, the two leaders stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully.
Both leaders reiterated the importance of maintaining a strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and called for continued use of diplomatic, military, law enforcement, commercial, and financial channels. (end)
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