American President Joe Biden and China's party leader Xi Jinping have warned of the danger that tensions between their countries could end in confrontation.

"The two leaders discussed the responsibility of both countries to ensure that the competition does not turn into a conflict," said the White House on Friday after the first telephone conversation between the two of them in seven months.

A "confrontation between China and America would be a disaster for both countries and the world," said Xi, according to Chinese state media.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for China, North Korea and Mongolia.

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Johannes Leithäuser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Majid Sattar

Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.

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Biden and Xi had discussed fields in which one had similar interests and fields in which "interests, values ​​and perspectives diverge," the White House said.

Both had also agreed to deal with the contentious issues "openly and directly".

Biden made it clear that Washington was trying to "deal responsibly with the competition between America and the People's Republic of China".

He also underlined his country's interest in peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region as in the rest of the world.

Beijing speaks of "serious problems"

The Chinese side described the conversation as "honest and detailed" and thus also revealed discrepancies. Xi blamed the United States for the tension between the two countries. "Due to the American China policy" there are "serious problems," he said, according to a statement from the State Department in Beijing. Both sides would have to show courage to stabilize the relationship. For further discussions at ministerial level, for example on climate protection and international conflicts, Xi formulated the condition that both sides had to respect the “core interests” of the other country. What is meant by this is a renouncement of interference in China's actions in Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and in the South China Sea.

America's relations with Taiwan in particular are a thorn in China's side.

Both presidents had agreed that talks between them should take place regularly, Beijing said.

However, the communication did not address the possibility of a personal meeting between the two, for example at the G20 meeting in Rome at the end of October.

Because of China's strict corona policy, it is expected that Xi Jinping will only participate in the conference virtually.

He has not left his country since January 2020.

It was only the second telephone conversation between the two presidents since Biden took office in January.

Under Donald Trump, relations between the two states had deteriorated - especially in trade policy.

The Biden administration has also declared China to be the greatest strategic challenge for the United States.

How China plays Germany and America off with one another

Chancellor Angela Merkel also called the Chinese head of state on Friday.

The German government announced that “developments in Afghanistan in particular” had been discussed.

In addition, Merkel and Xi had exchanged views on the corona pandemic and talked about international climate protection issues with a view to the upcoming UN climate conference in Glasgow.

After Merkel's extensive telephone conversation with Xi in April, the Chinese embassy published a long summary of the conversation at the time. The Chinese side proudly pointed out that China was Germany's most important trading partner for the fifth year in a row. Xi further emphasized to Merkel that the pragmatic Sino-German cooperation had overcome the influences of the Covid 19 pandemic and other factors and was stable.

It is not the first time that Xi has sought talks with Germany to strengthen China's position vis-à-vis the United States. According to the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Xi Jinping called on Germany to advocate a “correct” China policy within the European Union. He hoped that the investment agreement that China and the EU agreed on in December will soon be ratified. The EU Commission suspended ratification for the time being after China imposed sanctions on several MEPs and EU institutions.

Xi said the two countries' relations would continue to advance as long as both sides met on an equal footing. The head of state and party was open to talks with Germany about the situation in Afghanistan. In contrast to the United States and the EU member states, China has already promised its support for the new Taliban government.