Mulia Hotel
Bali, Indonesia
5:41 P.M. WITA
PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, President Xi, it's — I'm really glad to be able to see you again in person. We spent a lot of time together and — back in the days when we were both vice presidents, and it's just great to see you.
And you and I have had a number of candid and useful conversations over the years and since I became President as well. You were kind enough to call me to congratulate me, and I congratulate you as well. And I believe there's little substitute, though, for — to face-to-face discussions.
And as you know, I'm committed to keeping the lines of communications open between you and me personally but our governments across the board, because our two countries are — have so much that we have an opportunity to deal with.
As the leaders of our two nations, we share a responsibility, in my view, to show that China and the United States can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation.
And I believe this is critical for the sake of our two countries and the international community. This — this was a key to the theme of the COP27 meeting, where I spoke on Friday. And we'll be discussing a lot of these challenges together, I hope, in the next couple hours.
And the world expects, I believe, China and the United States to play key roles in addressing global challenges, from climate changes, to food insecurity, and to — for us to be able to work together.
The United States stands ready to do just that — work with you — if that's what you desire.
So, President Xi, I look forward to our continuing and ongoing open and honest dialogue we've always had. And I thank you for the opportunity.
PRESIDENT XI: (As interpreted.) Mr. President, it's good to see you. The last time we met was in 2017, during the World Economic Forum in Davos. That was already more than five years ago.
