President Joe Biden has told world leaders that the US is not seeking conflict with China but it will “push back on aggression and intimidation” as his administration seeks to “responsibly manage” its tense relationship with Beijing. Addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Biden said his administration is also ready to work together with China on issues where progress hinges on “our common efforts.”
“When it comes to China, I want to be clear and consistent: We seek to responsibly manage the competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict,” Biden said in his address to the Heads of State and Government at the 193-member UN General Assembly on the opening day of the General Debate.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated earlier this year following an incident involving a spy balloon over American airspace, China’s support for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, trade disputes and human rights.
“I’ve said, “We are for de-risking, not decoupling with China,” Biden said.
“We will push back on aggression and intimidation and defend the rules of the road, from freedom of navigation to overflight to a level economic playing field that has helped safeguard security and prosperity for decades,” Biden said as his administration sought to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region and its military might.
Biden’s comments come as his administration has increased outreach to China, even as Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have gone nearly a year without having a face-to-face meeting. However, the Biden administration has taken the lead in having regular channels of communication with Beijing to avoid conflict.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently met with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have both made recent trips to China for meetings with government and business officials.
Meanwhile, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Monday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
“I had a candid and constructive meeting with People’s Republic of China Vice President Han Zheng about responsibly managing our bilateral relationship and addressing global and regional issues,” Blinken posted on X.
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry also met Vice President Zheng on the margins of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday.
The two sides discussed the critical importance of bilateral and multilateral efforts to address the climate crisis, including promoting a successful COP 28. Secretary Kerry reiterated the urgency of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will require ambitious action by the United States and China. He also emphasised the need for China to raise ambition in efforts to, among other things, accelerate decarbonisation and reduce emissions of super pollutants like methane, the State Department said in a press release.
Biden and Lula are meeting in NY
President Joe Biden will meet his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday in New York as the leaders of the Western Hemisphere’s largest democracies seek areas of common ground despite some recent differences on Russia’s war in Ukraine and other matters. The two are expected to discuss labour and the environment. And senior US administration officials who previewed the meeting said the two nations are rolling out a partnership on workers’ rights.
Initial hopes that Lula would prove a staunch ally for Biden have been tempered in recent months, with the Brazilian leader voicing opposition on some issues and at times even seeming to thumb his nose at Washington.
That has included dismissing allegations of Venezuela’s authoritarianism, calling for decreased dependence on the dollar for global trade and accusing the US of fuelling bloodshed in Ukraine by providing military aid.
In his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Lula criticised the US embargo and sanctions targeting Cuba.
“What Lula expects is not to be lectured by the US and the White House, but treated as a partner who they will sometimes disagree with, but who they do respect,” said Thomas Traumann, a Brazilian political analyst. “Not an enemy, not an opponent, someone who is on your side, but not always on your side.”
Biden had frosty relations with Lula’s predecessor. Far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, an open admirer of Donald Trump, waited weeks before recognising Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Over a year passed before a bilateral meeting took place in the context of US concerns that Bolsonaro, who had been casting doubt on Brazil’s election system, could reject its results.
After Bolsonaro’s defeat, his supporters stormed the capital in an attempt to oust Lula from power. The circumstances bore a clear resemblance to Trump and the January 6 Capitol riot.
Lula quickly travelled to Washington, where he and Biden bonded over the challenges to democracy they had both overcome.
Despite the shared experience and apparent bonhomie, the trip disgruntled Brazilian officials, who viewed the White House’s reception of the newly sworn-in president as historically underwhelming, said Traumann, who worked in the prior administration of Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s protege. The meeting on Wednesday will be their second. Their planned labour partnership will be a vehicle for stopping the exploitation of workers, forced labour and child labour as well as workplace discrimination, according to the US officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.
Labour is an issue dear to Lula, who got his start in politics as leader of a powerful metalworkers’ union.
The two are also likely to discuss environmental preservation, with Lula aiming to lure financial contributions for the Amazon rainforest, said Paulo Peres, a political scientist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Lula has been presenting himself as an environmental leader, and his administration has already recorded significant progress in the Amazon.
Deforestation of the Amazon had soared to a 15-year high under Bolsonaro, who called for the development of the rainforest, emboldening loggers and miners to invade protected areas, while defanging environmental authorities.
Lula began rebuilding those agencies, created eight protected areas for Indigenous people, and expelled thousands of miners from the massive Yanomami Indigenous territory. Deforestation dropped by nearly half in his first eight months.
He has sought international contributions for Brazil’s Amazon Fund, but donations have been small and symbolic. In February, the US committed to a USD 50 million donation to the initiative, though it has yet to be provided. Biden later announced he would ask Congress for an additional USD 500 million, which has yet to be committed.
The US officials who spoke to reporters sought to play down Lula’s recent criticism of the US embargo and sanctioning of Cuba. They noted that the Biden administration has lifted travel restrictions to Cuba imposed by the prior administration and is also in the process of restarting remittances to that country.
Lula also visited Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in May and said allegations of the country’s authoritarianism stem from a false narrative — despite widespread political arrests and election interference as well as threats to journalists.
The US is ready to provide sanctions relief if Venezuela meets milestones toward credible elections, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday. He declined to say whether Biden would broach the subject of Venezuela in their bilateral meeting.