Xi Warns Against New Cold War Ahead Of Biden Talks

The Asia-Pacific region must not return to the tensions of the Cold War era, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, ahead of a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden expected as soon as next week.

Xi, in a recorded video message to a CEO forum on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit hosted by New Zealand, said attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds were bound to fail.

"The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era," Xi said.

Xi's remarks were an apparent reference to US efforts with allies and partners in the region, including the Quad grouping with India, Japan and Australia, to blunt what Washington sees as China's growing coercive economic and military influence.

A date has not been announced for the Xi-Biden meeting, but a person briefed on the matter said it was expected to be as soon as next week.

Xi said achieving economic recovery soon is the most pressing task for the region, adding that countries must close the Covid-19 immunisation gap.

"We should translate the consensus that vaccines are a global public good into concrete actions to ensure their fair and equitable distribution," Xi said.

The regional leaders are meeting as part of a week-long series of Apec conferences culminating in a summit on Friday and Saturday, hosted entirely online by New Zealand, a country with hardline pandemic control measures that has kept its borders closed to almost all travellers for 18 months. (Reuters)