US President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a stern warning about China, calling it America’s “most serious competitor” and saying the US should take up its game, otherwise China (quote) will “eat our lunch.”
“If we do not move, they will eat our lunch.”
Biden’s comments come during a meeting with a dual group of senators on the need to upgrade US infrastructure.
The president referred to a two-hour call he had the night before with Chinese President Xi Jinping – his first at Xi since he took office – and how China is increasing its rail and electric vehicle technology, and insists that similar infrastructure improvements are among the areas the US needs to focus on to compete.
‘They invest a lot of money, they invest billions of dollars and deal with a whole range of issues related to transport, the environment and a whole range of other things. We just have to act. ”
During the call, Biden also expressed ‘fundamental’ concerns about Beijing’s ‘coercive and unfair’ trade practices, as well as about human rights issues – including China’s repression in Hong Kong.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki said Biden had also expressed concern about China’s lack of transparency about the coronavirus.
Xi said Biden’s confrontation between the two nations would be a (quote) disaster and that they would have to recover the means to avoid misjudgment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Biden told the senators he had a good conversation with Xi and knew him well from when he was vice president.
But a senior administration official told reporters before the call that Biden (quote) would be ‘practical, stubborn, clear-eyed’ in his dealings with Xi.
Video transcription
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I was on the phone for two hours straight with Xi Jinping.
– US President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a stern warning about China, calling it America’s most serious competitor, saying the US must take up its game otherwise China will ‘eat our lunch’.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: If we do not move, they will eat our lunch.
– Biden’s comments come during a meeting with a dual group of senators on the need to upgrade US infrastructure. The president referred to a two-hour call he had the night before with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first with Xi since his inauguration, and how China was improving its railway and electric vehicle technology, and urged note that similar infrastructure improvements were among the areas. the US had to focus on competing.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: They are going to invest a lot of money. They invest billions of dollars and deal with a whole range of issues related to transportation, the environment and a whole range of other things. We just have to act.
– During the call, Biden also expressed fundamental concern about Beijing’s ‘coercive and unfair’ trade practices, as well as about human rights issues, including China’s repression in Hong Kong.
JEN PSAKI: During his call, the president certainly expressed concern about the lack of transparency.
– White House spokesman Jen Psaki said Biden had also expressed concern about China’s lack of transparency about the coronavirus. She said Biden’s confrontation between the two nations would be a “disaster” and that they should recover the means to prevent misjudgments, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Biden told the senators that he had a good conversation with Xi and that he knew him well when he was vice president. But a senior administration official told reporters before the call that Biden would be “practical, stubborn and clear-eyed” in his dealings with Xi.