"We are not looking to decouple from China. We are looking to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China," President Biden said at a news conference after the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, according to Reuters. The G7 countries include Japan, the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
President Biden also said he expected frosty relations with China to thaw “in short order”, following tensions over the US shooting down a Chinese balloon over sensitive military sites in February.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference after the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing was seen as an opportunity to improve bilateral relations but was cancelled because of the balloon incident.
President Biden said relations had deteriorated in the months following his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali in November 2022.
At a press conference in Hiroshima, President Biden was asked why a planned hotline between the US and China was not in place. “You’re right, we should have an open hotline. At the Bali summit, that’s what President Xi and I agreed to do and continue to meet,” Biden replied.
"And then this stupid blimp with spy gear flew over the United States. It got shot down and everything changed, in terms of talking to each other. I think you'll see that begin to thaw in a very short period of time," President Biden said.
The Biden administration has also angered China by targeting the trade in advanced microchips, citing the risk of them being used for military purposes.
President Biden defended those actions today, after G7 leaders warned China on May 20 about its “militarization” in the region. “They’re building up their military, and that’s why I’ve made it clear that I’m not willing to trade certain items with China,” Biden said.
"We've now got commitments from all of our allies that they're not going to do that either, provide that kind of material. But that's not a hostile act, that's an act that says 'we're going to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain the status quo,'" President Biden stressed.
There is currently no information on China's reaction to President Biden's statement.
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