Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Spoke with Chinese President; Biden Speaks in Bali; Biden Speaks about Elections and Xi. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 14, 2022 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:49]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

Any moment now President Biden will speak and take questions after a crucial meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden facing a critical test on multiple fronts in his first face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader since taking office. Challenges for China as well.

Talks lasted more than three hours. They took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. The meeting comes amid still growing tensions on trade, the military standoff over Taiwan, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both leaders come into the talks with political wins at their backs after Xi was given a third term, breaking China's constitutional two-term limit, and Biden, of course, with better than expected political results here in the U.S.

Let's speak now to CNN's Phil Mattingly, who is there in Bali as we wait for President Biden to come to the cameras.

And, Phil, it seems, according to White House officials, that the president did raise both Taiwan and human rights issues with the Chinese leader. What do we know?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, the White House was very clear that the president was going to be very candid about objections that U.S. officials had, concerns that the U.S. had when it came to China's actions, in particular when it came to Taiwan and some of the aggressive behavior U.S. officials have seen over the course of the last year, particularly in the Taiwan Strait, but also on human rights issues as well. And according to the readout that was released by the White House after the meeting, those objections were raised.

However, it's important to note that there are a couple of elements here that were critical given just how poor the state of relations has been over the course of the last two years. First and foremost, it's affected both leaders, at least according to the White House, agreed to empower their senior officials to open lines of communications and maintain those lines of communications.

Jim, as you know well, the ability for U.S. officials and their counterparts at the highest levels to communicate over the last two years has largely been frozen, and minimal at best. So, reopening those lines is critical.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Biden tasked him with visiting China in the - in the months ahead as they continue these things - these issues, Jim. I think one of the big things we're going to hear from the president here in just about a minute and a half, his view of President Xi's perspective. We have the White House's perspective. We know the concerns and the priorities, what President Biden felt President Xi's perspective was is incredibly important at this moment.

SCIUTTO: No question. Watching them meet face-to-face, shake hands, notable given that the Chinese president didn't so much as leave the country for a couple of years during the pandemic.

Phil, what are you hearing from the U.S. side in terms of China's position today. There's enormous tensions at home, a declining economy, public opposition to continuing Covid restrictions as well.

MATTINGLY: Yes, I think those were critical elements of the backdrop of this meeting, the intensive negotiations and discussions leading up to this meeting to set the contours of that meeting. I think we haven't heard much -- oh, here's the president now. So, I'm going to turn it over to him, Jim.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome to Bali.

Please.

Good evening, everyone.

Let me start with a few words about the recent elections held in the United States.

What we saw was the strength and resilience of the American democracy, and we saw it in action. And the American people proved once again that democracy is who we are.

And there was a strong rejection of election deniers at every level, from those seeking to lead our states, and those seeking to serve in Congress, and also those seeking to oversee the elections. And there was a strong rejection of political violence and voter intimidation. And there was an emphatic statement that in America the will of the people prevails.

I have - I've traveled this week and it's been clear just how closely the world and our allies and our competitors as well have been following our elections at home.

Excuse me, I have a little cold.

[09:05:01]

And what these elections showed is that there's a deep and unwavering commitment in America to preserving and protecting and defending democracy.

Now, let me speak briefly about our agenda over the past few days in Egypt and in Cambodia and here in Indonesia.

In this moment of great global challenges, from global inflation to the climate crisis to Russia's brutal war against Ukraine, we're bringing together the broadest possible coalition of partners to deliver results. At COP27 in Egypt I made it clear that thanks to the bold agenda of our administration we pursued from day one to tackle the climate crisis and advantage energy and security at home and around the world, the United States will meet - the United States will meet our emissions target under the -- targets under the Paris agreement. And we're going to keep working with our partners to support the most vulnerable countries in building resilience to climate impacts and to aligning global ambition with the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal while supercharging our clean energy transition.

At the U.S.-ASEAN summit in and East Asia Summit I laid out a commitment to working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to ensure a future that is vital to this region, that's free and open and prosperous, as well as secure. And I met with our allies from Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea, underscoring our commitment and deepening our engagement with our closest partners and strengthening cooperation among our allies to meet shared threats to our own security and to their security, including the DPRK.

And let me meet - I just met in-person with Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China. We had -- excuse me -- we had an open and candid conversation about our intentions and our priorities. It was clear -- he was clear and I was clear that we'll defend American interest and values, promote universal human rights and stand up for the international order and work in lockstep with our allies and partners. We're going to compete vigorously, but I'm not looking for conflict, I'm look to go manage this competition responsibly. And I want to make sure -- make sure that every country abides by the international rules of the road. We discussed that.

The one China policy -- our one China policy has not changed. Has not changed. We oppose unilateral change in the status quo by either side and we're committed to maintaining the peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

It was also clear that China and the United States should be able to work together where we can to solve global challenges that require every nation to do its part. We discussed Russia's aggression against Ukraine, reaffirmed our shared belief in the threat where the use of nuclear weapons is totally unacceptable and I asked that Secretary Blinken travel to China to follow up on our discussions and continue keeping the lines of communication open between our two countries.

Looking ahead at the G20 meetings tomorrow, we're going to be talking -- taking on the very issues that matter to the people's lives not only here, but also -- also our allies and our partners. That means tackling the suffering that Russia aggression has unleashed, not just in the Ukraine people, but the people around the world, particularly food insecurity, and strengthening the fundamentals of our global economy for everyone, support for debt relief, reforms for multilateral development banks, investments to bolster global health security and to make sure the world is better prepared for the next pandemic.

The G20 has been an important forum for the world's largest economies to work together for the good of people everywhere. And I'm looking forward to our meetings tomorrow.

Now, let me close with this.

On my first trip overseas last year, I said that America was back. Back at home, back at the table and back to leading the world. In the year and a half that's followed, we've shown exactly what that means. America is keeping its commitments. America is investing in our strength at home. America is working alongside our allies and partners to deliver real meaningful progress around the world. And at this critical moment, no nation is better positioned to help build the future we want than the United States of America.

Now, I'm happy to take questions and I'm told there are going to be four questioners, but I'm not going to do ten questions from each questioner, all right? Let's make that clear at the outset here.

And, so, Ken Thomas, "Wall Street Journal."

KEN THOMAS, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": (INAUDIBLE) you said at the outset of this meeting that you did not want - you did not want competition to turn into conflict. Based on this meeting today, do you believe a new cold war with China can be avoided?

[09:10:01]

And specifically on the issue of Taiwan, you spoke about intentions. Do you believe China is preparing, intending to invade Taiwan at some point? And what warnings did you issue to President Xi if he were to take such action?

Biden: Well, to answer the first part of your question, I absolutely believe there need not be a new cold war. We -- I've met many times with Xi Jinping and we were candid and clear with one another across the board. And I do not think there's any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan. And I made it clear that our policy in Taiwan has not changed at all. It's the same exact position we've had. I made it clear that we want to see cross strait issues peacefully resolved and so it never has to come to that. And I'm convinced that -- that he understood exactly what I was saying, I understood what he was saying.

And, look, I think the United States is better prepared than any country in the world economically and politically to deal with changing circumstances around the world. And I think that -- I think Xi Jinping is -- we agreed that we would set up a set of circumstances where on issues that were -- that we had to further resolve details, we agreed that we would have our chief of staff -- our -- the appropriate cabinet members and others sit and meet with one another to discuss the details of any -- every issue that we -- that was raised. And we raised a lot of issues.

Seung Kim, "Associated Press."

SEUNG KIM, "ASSOCIATED PRESS: Thank you, Mr. President.

You met with President Xi and you met with him face-to-face after he had unquestionably consolidated his power at home. So now that you've met with him face-to-face, how do you assess his sort of posture towards the United States now, and did you find him personally to be more confrontational or more conciliatory and willing to compromise?

BIDEN: Neither and yes.

KIM: Can you elaborate?

Biden: Yes, I didn't find him more confrontational or more conciliatory, I found him the way he's always been, direct and straightforward.

And do I think he's willing to compromise on various issues? Yes. I think he understands that -- look, I think -- how can I say this tactfully? I think the -- I think the election held in the United States was still -- leaves a little bit uncertain -- has sent a very strong message around the world that the United States is ready to play. The United States is -- the Republicans who survived, along with the Democrats, are of the view that we're going to stay fully engaged in the world and that we, in fact, know what we're about. And so I don't get any sense that there's more or less confrontation.

We were very blunt with one another about places where we disagreed or where we were uncertain of each other's position and we agreed we'd set up, and we did, mechanisms whereby we would meet in detail with our -- the key people in each of our administrations to discuss how we could resolve them, or how -- if they weren't resolved, on what basis were they not resolved.

Sebastian Smith, the AFP.

SEBASTIAN SMITH, AFP: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

That's extremely close.

Excuse me, I don't usually talk that loud.

Does the retaking of Kherson in Ukraine signal a turning point in the war in your opinion that the Ukrainians -- where the Ukrainians could realistically pursue their ultimate goal of expelling the Russians completely, including retaking Crimea? If so, does the U.S. intend to support and facilitate that goal as you've been doing so far with their other goals, or would you perhaps see Kherson as a different kind of inflection point, basically a good time to start negotiating now that they've got a -- some more strength than they had, you know, a few weeks ago?

Thank you.

BIDEN: First of all, it was a significant, significant victory for Ukraine. Significant victory. And I can do nothing but applaud the courage, determination and capacity of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military. I mean they have really been amazing.

And I think it's hard to tell at this point exactly what it means in terms of -- but I've been very clear that we're going to continue to provide a capability for the Ukrainian people to defend themselves.

[09:15:02]

And we are not going to engage in any negotiation. There's no -- nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. It's a decision Ukraine has to make. I think you're going to see things slow down a bit because of the winter months and the inability to move as easily around the country. But I think it remains to be seen exactly what the outcome will be, except that I'm confident that Russia will not occupy or defend Ukraine as they intended from the beginning.

I can't - I'm having trouble reading this. Reuters, Nandita Bose.

NANDITA BOSE, "REUTERS": Mr. President, quick question on North Korea, which appears poised to conduct a new nuclear test. I'm wondering if you can talk about your specific discussions with President Xi on that. To what extent do you think China has the ability to talk North Korea out of conducting such tests, and what are the repercussions for U.S./Chinese relations if a test goes forward?

BIDEN: Well, first of all, it's difficult to say that I am certain that China can control North Korea, number one. Number two, I made it clear to President Xi Jinping that I thought they had an obligation to attempt to make it clear to North Korea that they should not engage in long range nuclear tests. And I made it clear as well that if they did, they meaning North Korea, that we would have to take certain actions that would be more defensive on our behalf and it would not be directed against North Korea -- excuse me, it would not be directed against China but it would be to send a clear message to North Korea. We are going to defend our allies as well as American soil and American capacity.

And so -- but I do not think that -- it's difficult to determine whether or not China has the capacity. I'm confident China is not looking for North Korea to engage in further escalatory means because I made it clear -- and I made it clear from the very beginning, and last year as well, that we will do what it needs to defend our capacity, to defend ourselves and our allies, South Korea, as well as Japan, and that it would be - we'd be more up in the face of China, but it wouldn't be because of China, it would be because of what was going on in North Korea.

So -- and, again, on a number of these issues, we have put together teams with our national security adviser, secretary of defense and others are going to be engaging with their counterparts in China to see - and we're not going to be able to work everything out. And I'm not suggesting it's going to -- this is kumbaya, you know, everybody is going to go away with everything in agreement. But I do not believe there's a need for concern of a -- as one of you raised the legitimate question, a new cold war. And I think that - I'll conclude by saying it this way, I want to be clear and be clear with all leaders, but particularly with Xi Jinping, that I mean what I say and I say what I mean. So, there's no misunderstanding. That's the biggest concern is -- I have is a misunderstanding about intentions or actions on each of our parts.

So, we went into -- I look at my team, how long did that meeting last? Three and a half hours. So, we covered an awful lot of territory. And I must say that he was as straightforward as he has been with me in the past and I think that we understand one another, which is the most important thing that can be done.

I guess all of you are going swimming from here. It's not far, but -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what should Americans expect from Congress as it relates to abortion rights after the midterms?

BIDEN: I don't think they can expect much of anything other than we're going to maintain our positions. I'm not going to get into more questions. I shouldn't have even answered your question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

BIDEN: No, no, I don't think that -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, will you take a question from an Indonesian (ph)?

BIDEN: I - I don't think there's enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House. I think we're going to get very close in the House, but I don't -- I think it's going to be very close, but I think we're going to make it.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, thank you, everybody. Thank you. That's the - that -

SCIUTTO: OK.

President Biden speaking to reporters there following a three and a half hour meeting between the U.S. president and the Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Interestingly, President Biden opened with a message on the election back here at home, saying that the American people proved once again that democracy is who we are.

[09:20:07]

He went on to say later that the election has sent a very strong message that the U.S. is ready to play. Perhaps a message not just to a U.S. audience, but world leaders there in China where there is no such democracy. He also did say that the U.S. is not seeking a cold war, does not believe there needs to be a new cold war with China. He says he is not looking for conflict. He also said that following his meeting with the Chinese president, he does not believe that China plans an imminent attack on Taiwan.

We are joined now by Phil Mattingly, who is in Bali, who was there in the press conference with the president, as well as CNN correspondent David Culver, who spent a couple of years inside China, as well as Matthew Goodman, senior VP for economics at the Centers for Strategic and International Studies.

I do want to begin with you, if I can, David, given the length of time you spent in that country there, you can speak to the genuine tensions that Xi Jinping is facing at home, but also how news worthy this is for the U.S. president to meet face-to-face with the Chinese president following really, well, no international travel, no international meetings for the Chinese president for some time.

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes, and, Jim, I look at what Xi Jinping is facing back home and it's a mess, quite frankly. I mean I left in May amidst what was a very difficult Shanghai lockdown. These lockdowns are continuing. Covid and zero Covid policy at that is still very much in place there and you see heavy restrictions on the people of China and a continued grip over them with the control of their movements all in the name of national health security and really ultimately national security.

And that's been the big shift that we've seen out of President Xi Jinping. We just saw that just a few weeks ago at the party congress when he was essentially canonized into this third term, allowing him to continue this rule for life. And he shifted the focus from economic power to national security. And that gives him a lot of leeway to push forward in his intentions in trying to continue to put pressure on the U.S.

One thing that was really interesting that you pointed out, Jim, is how President Biden started, and that was saying that the midterms reaffirmed democracy, because if there's one thing that the Chinese state media loves to seize on it's the division within the U.S.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

CULVER: And he's trying to come out, first and foremost, to say, democracy is strong.

SCIUTTO: No question. It's a good point. Thank you, David Culver.

Phil Mattingly back on with us now.

I wonder, that was virtually his first - it was his first word in the press conference, last word on China about the U.S. election, Phil. I wonder if that was deliberate.

MATTINGLY: There's no question about it. And, look, I think it's also a reflection of the days leading up to this meeting when he was in ASEAN, when we were in Cambodian, he as meeting with Asian Pacific leaders. And top U.S. officials, top Biden advisers, made clear repeatedly over the course of the day and a half, two days we were in Cambodia, they would hear from world leaders who brought up the midterm elections, who made clear they saw that Democrats had been viewed though a more successful lens certainly than was expected.

What was stressed to me throughout the course of the last 48 to 72 hours is just how closely everyone was watching the midterm elections, not just at home, not just because John King's on the magic wall, but from an international scale of things, to see what's going to happen next. And I think they have felt, the Biden team, like they've had some wind at their backs, moving -- going into this meeting with President Xi. And I think that's why you heard the president bring that up from the start. That's why you heard the president conclude with that. They feel like they're in a very different moment, not just at home from where they were expected before the election, but abroad as well. And I think that was something he took into the meeting with President Xi Jinping, but I also think it's something that reflects his overall approach, which it -- whether he would acknowledge it or not, it provides some type of comfort, that his theory of the case that he ran on, that he's really kind of proceeded the path along - over the course of his first two years in office has started to bear some fruit, both on the domestic agenda but also in the fact that many of the Trump beholden to some degree republicans lost their elections or maybe didn't have the power that they once thought they did. That's something he wants to bring into these meetings, particularly given the stakes and the scale of this bilateral relationship.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Matthew Goodman, the scale of the problems between these two countries in this bilateral relationship is long and severe. Taiwan being one of them after Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit there. China, in effect, cutting off discussions on one of the most important issues between the two countries, that is climate discussions, but also on human rights. China's incarceration of more than a million Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, it's crushing of dissent in Hong Kong.

Is there value, even if you don't reach any agreement or make any progress on those issues, in simply sitting across the table from each other?

MATTHEW GOODMAN, SENIOR VP FOR ECONOMICS, CENTERS FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Yes. I think this was a very important meeting. You saw the body language was good. I think both leaders wanted to convey a sense of confidence, a sense that they understood they had a responsibility to manage the competition, as the president said, between these two largest economies in the world. A lot of differences. No question none of that was resolved today.

[09:25:03]

But as the president said, I think this was about reestablishing lines of communication and making sure that we don't misunderstand each other. And so I think on that level this was a successful meeting. SCIUTTO: Matthew, let me ask you, you heard David Culver, our

correspondent who knows what he's talking about, he spent time in China in the midst of these Covid lockdowns which had enormous effects, including on China's economy. But you see China's economy slowing down to the point where China won't even release its economic growth statistics. Before they would just exaggerate them. Now they're not releasing them. You see public opposition to that zero Covid policy. You see no one in the world taking up China's vaccine with any interest given it's not tremendous efficacy here.

Is Xi's strength exaggerated to some degree? I mean, he certainly has power in that country, but is his position weakening due to those headwinds?

GOODMAN: Well, there's no question that the economic story is weakening. Their growth is maybe going to be a couple -- few percent this year, way down from what it was just a few years ago and below their own projections of 5 percent, 6 percent. So, growth has slowed. I think that's, you know, partly the -- President Xi has made a calculation that he needs to ensure that his people are safe from Covid. He thinks that's going to be best done by locking down the economy and society. Whether that's right or not is to be seen, but I think -- I wouldn't view it as a source of weakness, but just a different set of priorities. Whether he's going to be able to sustain that or not, we'll see.

SCIUTTO: Gentlemen, Phil Mattingly in Bali, David Culver and Matthew Goodman, thanks so much. Consequential meeting between the U.S. and Chinese president at a tense time between the two countries.

Still ahead this hour, today classes are canceled at the University of Virginia after a former football player allegedly opened fire on campus. He killed three people, injured two more. What we know about a manhunt underway right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]