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WASHINGTON — President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during his first meeting in seven months, voicing his concerns over China’s cyber activities, arguing that the leaders of the world’s two largest economies could put aside their differences to work together on climate change.

The call meant a break in what experts call one of the following. lowest score in the relationship between the two countries in decades. It is only the second time the leaders have spoken since Mr. Biden took office; The lack of communication is a measure of the growing tension between their nations as they try to maneuver to limit the other’s global influence.

The call, which a senior management official said lasted 90 minutes, came at a particularly sensitive time. Tensions are mounting over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and Mr. Biden is trying to bring the West together in the battle between “autocracy and democracy.” Also arrived less than two weeks later US completes withdrawal from AfghanistanWhere China deals with commodity mining.

While Mr. Biden’s senior officials stressed the importance of engaging directly with Mr. Xi after months of discussion, administration officials provided a few noteworthy details about the meeting Thursday evening. Officials said Mr Biden forced China to accept a set of scarecrows for policymaking, while also emphasizing the need to mitigate climate change.

The discussion was “part of an ongoing effort by the United States to responsibly manage competition between the United States and the PRC,” according to the White House’s statement using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China. Mr Biden underscored the enduring interest of the United States in peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, and the two leaders discussed the responsibility of both countries to ensure that rivalry does not degenerate into conflict.

The official China brief of the call said Mr Xi told Mr Biden that the US government’s policies towards China have strained relations and that it is in both countries’ interests to avoid conflict.

“The US policies towards China for some time have pushed Sino-US relations into serious difficulties, and this is incompatible with the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries and the common interests of every country in the world. world,” said Mr. Xi, according to the summary of the search Published online by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Whether China and the United States can properly manage mutual relations is a question of the destiny of the century, and both countries must answer it.”

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Xi listed climate change, pandemic prevention and control, and economic recovery as some of the areas in which Beijing and Washington should cooperate. But he noted that the effort should be based on “respecting each other’s core concerns and managing differences appropriately”.

The call between the two leaders, their first serious meeting since February, demonstrated the White House’s sense of urgency to compete with Beijing and establish policy-making prospects.

Prior to the call in the Treaty Room, senior management officials said the meeting was necessary after previous discussions had erupted with criticism and ended with several commitments of cooperation.

A March meeting between China’s top diplomats and senior Biden administration officials, including Foreign Minister Antony J. Blinken, ended with accusations and no joint statement of intent to cooperate. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman’s trip to China in July similarly ended with little sign of progress.

In the latest collaborative effort to address climate change, Chinese officials told US climate ambassador John Kerry:, in Tianjin last week, said escalating tension would hinder any potential cooperation.

“Without the political will at the very top of both governments, no stability in the relationship, any progress towards common concerns like the climate or the pandemic is possible,” said Myron Brilliant, Vice President and Head of International Affairs. US Chamber of Commerce. “It starts with the two leaders agreeing on a framework to work together on areas of common concern,” he said.

Mr Brilliant said the next phase of the dialogue between the two leaders should be “supported by more concrete steps towards engagement in areas where both sides have differences and challenges”, such as trade and technology.

Mr. Biden shared his concerns about cybersecurity with Mr. Xi, two months after administration Accused Chinese government of violating Microsoft Email systems used by the world’s largest companies and the United States have gathered a large group of allies to denounce Beijing for cyberattacks around the world.

The Biden administration’s efforts to organize multinational denunciations angered the Chinese Communist Party. However, in the call summary of the State Department, it was stated that both countries “agreed that it is very important for the leaders of China and the USA to establish comprehensive communication” and that they will maintain regular contact.

The meeting took place weeks after experts convened by national intelligence director Avril D. Haines. reported They could not conclude whether the coronavirus escaped from a laboratory or was caused by a mutation of a virus in the animal population. The inconclusive nature of the review is doomed to perpetuate competing theories about how the coronavirus originated and the extent to which Beijing is responsible for blocking access to key researchers.

Chris Buckley contributing reporting.