So Are They 'Friends' or Not? White House Changes Tune on Joe Biden's Relations With Xi Jinping

The Chinese president heartily welcomed his American counterpart during a virtual summit last week calling him "old friend". The two have met on a number of occasions while Biden was serving as Vice-President to Barack Obama to resolve the issue in bilateral relations.

The White House seemingly changed its tune on the issue of relations between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as spokeswoman Jen Psaki backtracked on the POTUS' earlier statement about not being "old friends" with the Chinese president. Psaki insisted that the president never used such an expression when questioned about the issue during a briefing on 18 November.

"The President didn’t say [they are 'old friends']. The President considers him someone he has known for some time, someone he can have candid relationships with. I can’t speak for how the Chinese categorise or describe people they know in the world. I can only describe how the President views the relationship".

Jen Psaki

White House Spokeswoman

However, ahead of the summit, Biden openly pushed back on 16 November against claims that he considers Xi Jinping his "old friend". This idea was echoed on the same day by Psaki herself.

"Let’s get something straight. We know each other well. We’re not old friends. It’s just pure business," Biden said and Psaki noted on the same day: "[Biden] still does not consider [Xi] an ‘old friend’ so that remains consistent."

The situation grew even more confusing when Xi Jinping himself heartily greeted POTUS during the video conference on 16 November and noting that he was "very happy to see old friend" Biden.

The two presidents held the virtual conference last week as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate amid the ongoing trade conflict, export limitations on the US' part and Washington's persistent rhetoric in calling Beijing its main competitor and potential adversary.

Biden and Xi discussed a range of issues, including the situation regarding Taiwan and the disputed waters of the South China Sea, alleged human rights violations in China and the further development of bilateral relations. However, the summit produced no declaration or agreement that indicated that either country had undergone a change in stance on any of the disputed matters. However, both sides pledged to continue talks in the future.