The presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and the United States, Joe Biden, spoke face to face for the first time.
(Photo.rbg.id)

By María Josefina Arce

In Bali, Indonesia, the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and the United States, Joe Biden, met for the first time face to face, a meeting on which all eyes were focused because of its international repercussions.
  
Jinping, as in his telephone contacts and videoconferences with Biden, reiterated his call to work together to achieve peace and stability in the world.
 
The Chinese head of state called for the ironing out of differences, which in recent years have been escalating in tension, especially in the commercial field and in such a sensitive issue as Taiwan, which Beijing considers an inseparable part of its territory.
 
However, Washington has taken very dangerous steps and has maintained an interfering attitude in an internal matter of the Asian giant. Let us not forget the provocative visit last August of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwanese soil, leading to increased tensions.
  
And less than two weeks after the controversial visit, a delegation of U.S. congressmen also arrived in Taiwan. In addition, the United States is conducting military exercises with countries in the area and has approved the sale of arms to the island, adding to the instability in the Asia-Pacific area.
  
Hence Jinping has once again made clear at the meeting in Bali the principle of one China, which is recognized by the international community and an essential element for bilateral relations.
  
The trade confrontation between the world's two largest economies has also been a constant in recent times. Under the administration of the now former President Donald Trump this confrontation reached high levels, with the imposition of tariffs on Chinese products, which led to a response from Beijing in kind.
  
The IMF, International Monetary Fund, itself has recognized that the levies that the northern country began to establish since 2018 on Chinese imports are an example of counterproductive policies.
  
The United States has also imposed blockades and bans on major Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei, ZTE and China Telecom.
  
Against this backdrop, it is essential, as Xinping stated in his meeting with Biden, to improve bilateral relations and put them on the path of stable and healthy development, at a time of unprecedented crises and challenges for humanity.
  
The truth is that the tensions between the two powers have repercussions all over the world, adding more elements of instability and jeopardizing peace on the planet. That is why, as China insisted, differences must be kept under control and beneficial cooperation must be promoted.