BIDEN PROMISES ‘NO NEW COLD WAR’ WITH CHINA

US President Joe Biden has promised there will be no “new Cold War” with China, following a conciliatory meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He also said he did not believe China would invade Taiwan.

It was the first meeting between the two superpower leaders since Mr Biden took office.

The pair met in Bali, a day before the G20 leaders’ summit on the Indonesian island.

In a three-hour meeting held at a luxury hotel shortly after Mr Xi’s arrival, the leaders discussed a wide range of topics including Taiwan.

Claimed by Beijing, the self-governed island counts the US as an ally, and has always been a thorny issue in US-China relations.

Tensions spiked in August when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. China responded with large-scale military exercises around the island, prompting fears of a possible conflict between the US and China.

A readout to Chinese state media on Monday said Mr Xi had stressed that Taiwan remained “the core of China’s core interests… and the first red line in US-China relations that cannot be crossed”.

In recent weeks US officials have warned that China may escalate plans to invade Taiwan.

Reporters on Monday asked Mr Biden if he believed this to be true, and if he thought a new Cold War was brewing.