China says its supports peace talks on Ukraine, following Biden-Xi meeting, but makes no direct mention of nuclear threat
Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden during a meeting Monday that China is "highly concerned about the current situation in Ukraine" and "has all along stood on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks," according to a readout released by China's Foreign Ministry.
"We support and look forward to a resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, we hope that the United States, NATO and the EU will conduct comprehensive dialogues with Russia," Xi told Biden, according to the readout.
Xi also enumerated steps the international community to take to address the crisis, and called for "confrontation between major countries must be avoided."
But the Chinese side's account lacked direct mention of a key point presented in a readout released by White House following the roughly three-hour meeting between the two leaders.
"President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine," the White House account of the meeting said.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden exchanged views on key regional and global challenges, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a White House readout of the talks Monday.
"President Biden raised Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and Russia’s irresponsible threats of nuclear use. President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine," said the White House.
"President Biden also raised concerns about the DPRK’s provocative behavior, noted all members of the international community have an interest in encouraging the DPRK to act responsibly, and underscored the United States’ ironclad commitment to defending our Indo-Pacific Allies," according to the White House.
Washington's statement also said Biden had "raised Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and Russia’s irresponsible threats of nuclear use."
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping "spoke candidly about their respective priorities and intentions across a range of issues" during their face to face talks in Bali on Monday, according to a White House readout of the meeting.
"President Biden explained that the United States will continue to compete vigorously with the (China), including by investing in sources of strength at home and aligning efforts with allies and partners around the world," the White House said.
"He reiterated that this competition should not veer into conflict and underscored that the United States and China must manage the competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication."