Biden, Xi try to tamp down tension in long virtual meeting

By AAMER MADHANI and COLLEEN LONG
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping are agreeing they need to tread carefully as their nations find themselves in an increasingly fraught competition. The two leaders talked for more than three hours Monday by video amid mounting tensions in the U.S.-China relationship. Facing domestic pressures at home, both Biden and Xi seemed determined to lower the temperature in what is their most significant — and frequently turbulent — relationship on the global stage. Biden said they have a responsibility to ensure that competition between their countries doesn’t veer into conflict. Xi also was cordial, saying China and the U.S. need to increase communication and cooperation.