November 15, 2022: -U.S. President Joe Biden and President of China Xi Jinping initially met on Monday in person since Biden took office.

“We need to chart the correct course for the China-U.S. relationship,” Xi stated at the start of the meeting in Mandarin, according to an official English translation broadcast.

“We must find the right direction for the bilateral connection going forward and elevate the relationship.”

Xi is focusing on the need to learn from history, which uses it “as a mirror” to “guide the future,” stated a release from China’s Foreign Ministry. He added that the bilateral relationship is not in the interest of the two states’ peoples and isn’t the reason the international community anticipates it.

The meeting took place in Bali just before the G-20 summit was due to kick off.

According to Reuters, Biden added the U.S. and China are managing their differences and stopping competition from changing into conflict.

The two leaders held a videoconference in November 2021 and, among other communication, called in July.

Pressures between the U.S. and China have escalated more than in the previous several years, which touches on flashpoints which range from Taiwan and the war in Ukraine to the capability of American firms to sell high-end tech to Chinese businesses. Nine government officials accompanied each president.

Representatives for the U.S. side include Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the State Antony Blinken Secretory and Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

They were accompanying Xi and Ding Xuexiang, one of the recent members of China’s high circle of power, and He Lifeng, the National Development and Reform Commission head. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying will also appear.