Biden prioritized economic and military issues, and mentioned potential areas of cooperation, including climate change and nuclear proliferation, while calling on China to address a number of issues related to the harmful use of technology, unfair trade and human rights abuses, the senior official said.
The official said before the call that Biden would also accuse Xi of human rights abuses by Uighurs, a Chinese Muslim minority, and hostile actions against Hong Kong.
Biden planned to “indicate that this is not just American values, but universal values,” said the senior official before the call.
A reading of the White House call on Wednesday night said that Biden “affirmed his priorities of protecting the security, prosperity, health and lifestyle of the American people, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Biden, added the reading, “highlighted his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s unjust and coercive economic practices, repression in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including in relation to Taiwan.”
The government is planning a comprehensive review of the Trump administration’s stance on China, including its crackdown on unfair trade practices and antagonistic military activities in Asia, while recognizing the search for a robust Indo-peaceful strategy, according to a government official. This means embracing China whenever possible, while denouncing it on other issues, such as human rights violations.
One thing that will remain in effect is the Trump administration’s tariffs on China.
“We kept the tariffs that were set over the past few years, not because we think that trade war was particularly successful, but because we believe that we have to do this very carefully, in consultation with allies and partners, in consultation with the Congress, work through the sources of influence we have, “said the senior official.
Government officials also condemned China’s attacks on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Last week, the U.S. Navy also sent a missile destroyer guided by the Taiwan Strait, the first time during the Biden government a U.S. warship crossed the waterway that separates China from Taiwan.
The official said the Biden administration has encountered “deep problems” with the way the Trump administration has approached competition with China, and is one of the issues they are now reviewing as part of a broader Chinese policy.
“Today I was informed of a new task force across the DoD in China that Secretary Austin is standing up to examine our strategy and operational concepts, technology and force posture and more,” said the president when visiting the Pentagon for the first time. time since it opened.
Biden said the task force will draw on civilian and military experts from the Department of Defense and provide recommendations to Austin “in the coming months” on “key priorities and decision points”.
“This will require a whole effort by the government, bipartisan cooperation in Congress and strong alliances and partnerships. This is how we will face China’s challenge and ensure that the American people win the competition of the future,” said Biden.
Although Biden engaged with Xi in his role as vice president, the call was the first engagement from leader to leader.
Biden “has obviously spent a lot of time with Xi Jinping over the years, although this is his first call from leader to leader,” said the senior official before the call.
“He knows what he wants to establish with respect to China’s actions and policies” and wants to ensure “open lines of communication … so that we can overcome the challenges,” added the senior official.
CNN’s Donald Judd, Paul LeBlanc and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.