{"id":169767,"date":"2023-11-17T08:59:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T16:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=169767"},"modified":"2023-11-17T08:59:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T16:59:10","slug":"president-bidens-press-conference-after-xi-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=169767","title":{"rendered":"President Biden&#8217;s Press Conference After Xi Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Woodside, CA&#8230;I didn\u2019t know there were this many people in town.  Please have a seat.  As you know, I just concluded several hours of meetings with President Xi, and I believe they were some of the most constructive and productive discussions we\u2019ve had. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-eyN56bHf9c\" title=\"President Biden Holds a Press Conference\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been meeting with President Xi since both of us were vice president over 10 years ago.  Our meetings have always been candid and straightforward.  We haven\u2019t always agreed, but they\u2019ve been straightforward.  And today, built on the groundwork we laid over the past several months of high-level diplomacy between our teams, we\u2019ve made some important progress, I believe.<\/p>\n<p>First, I am pleased to announce that after many years of being on hold, we are restarting cooperation between the United States and the PRC on counternarcotics.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, you may remember, China took action to greatly reduce the amount of fentanyl shipped directly from China to the United States.  But in the years since that time, the challenge has evolved from finished fentanyl to fentanyl chemical ingredients and \u2014 and pill presses, which are being shipped without controls.  And, by the way, some of these pills are being inserted in other drugs, like cocaine, and a lot of people are dying.<\/p>\n<p>More people in the United States between the ages of 18 to 49 die from fentanyl than from guns, car accidents, or any other cause.  Period.<\/p>\n<p>So, today, with this new understanding, we\u2019re taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from China to the Western Hemisphere.  It\u2019s going to save lives, and I appreciate President Xi\u2019s commitment on this issue.<\/p>\n<p>President Xi and I tasked our teams to maintain a policy and law enforcement coordination going forward to make sure it works.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank the bipartisan congressional delegation to China, led by Leader Schumer, in October for supporting efforts \u2014 this effort so strongly. <\/p>\n<p>Secondly, and this is critically important, we are reassuming military-to-military contact \u2014 direct contacts.  As a lot of you press know who follow this, that\u2019s been cut off, and it\u2019s been worri- \u2014 worrisome.  That\u2019s how accidents happen: misunderstandings.  So, we\u2019re back to direct, open, clear, direct communications on a \u2014 on a ba- \u2014 on a direct basis. <\/p>\n<p>Vital miscalculations on either side can \u2014 are \u2014 can cause real, real trouble with a \u2014 with a country like China or any other major country.  And so, I think we made real progress there as well.<\/p>\n<p>And thirdly, we\u2019re going to get our experts together to discuss risk and safety issues associated with artificial intelligence.  As many of you who travel with me around the world almost everywhere I go \u2014 every major leader wants to talk about the impact of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>These are tangible steps in the right direction to determine what\u2019s useful and what\u2019s not useful, what\u2019s dangerous and what\u2019s acceptable. <\/p>\n<p>Moreover, there are evidence of cases that \u2014 that I\u2019ve made all along: The United States will continue to compete vigorously with the PRC.  But we\u2019ll manage that competition responsibly so it doesn\u2019t veer into conflict or accidental conflict. <\/p>\n<p>And where it\u2019s possible, where it is in our interests are \u2014 coincide, we\u2019re going to work together, like we did on fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the world expects of us \u2014 the rest of the world expects, not just in \u2014 people in China and the United States, but the rest of the world expects that of us.  And that\u2019s what the United States is going to be doing. <\/p>\n<p>Today, President Xi and I also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues, including Russia\u2019s refusal and brutal war to stop the war \u2014 and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and \u2014 and the conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>And as I always do, I raised areas where the United States has concerns about the PRC\u2019s actions, including detained and ex- \u2014 and exit-banned U.S. citizens, human rights, and corrective \u2014 coercive activities in the South China Sea.  We discussed all three of those things.  I gave them names of individuals that we think are being held, and hopefully we can get them released as well.  No agreement on that.  No agreement on that. <\/p>\n<p>I also stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s clear that we object to Beiji- \u2014 to Beijing\u2019s non-market economic practices and disadvantage \u2014 that disadvantage American businesses and workers and that we\u2019ll continue to address them.  And I named what I thought a number of those were.<\/p>\n<p>I welcome the positive steps we\u2019ve taken today, and it\u2019s important for the world to see that we are implementing the approach in the best traditions of American diplomacy.  We\u2019re talking to our competitors.  And the key el- \u2014 and just talking, just being blunt with one another so there\u2019s no misunderstanding is a key element to maintaining global stability and delivering for the American people. <\/p>\n<p>And in the months ahead, we\u2019re going to continue to preserve and pursue high-level diplomacy with the PRC in both directions to keep the lines of communication open, including between President Xi and me.  He and I agreed that either one of us could pick up the phone, call directly, and we\u2019d be heard immediately.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s \u2014 now I\u2019d like to be able to take some questions, if I may.  And I\u2019m told that Demetri of the Financial Times has the first question.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you.  And as an Irishman, I apologize for bringing the rain.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, holy God, I wouldn\u2019t have called on you if I had known that.  (Laughter.)  No, I\u2019m teasing.  Go ahead.  Fire away, Demetri.<\/p>\n<p>Q    President Biden, given that America is playing a key role in two major global crises \u2014 Ukraine and in Gaza \u2014 does that alter your previous commitment to defend Taiwan from any Chinese military action?  And did Xi Jinping outline the conditions under which China would attack Taiwan?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look, I reiterate what I\u2019ve said since I\u2019ve become president and what every previous president of late has said \u2014 that we \u2014 we maintain an agreement that there is a One China policy and that \u2014 and I\u2019m not going to change that.  That\u2019s not going to change.<\/p>\n<p>And so, that\u2019s about the extent to which we discussed it.<\/p>\n<p>Next question, sorry, was Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Good evening, Mr. President.  It appears, among other issues, that your agreement with President Xi over fentanyl would require \u2014 will require a lot of trust and verification to ensure success in curbing those drug flows.  I\u2019m wondering: After today and considering all that you\u2019ve been through in the past year, would you say, Mr. President, that you trust President Xi?<\/p>\n<p>And secondly, if I could, on Taiwan.  You\u2019ve \u2014 you and your administration officials have warned President Xi and Chi- \u2014 China about interference in the upcoming election.  I\u2019m wondering what would the consequences be if they do, in fact, interfere in the election.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I may have had that discussion with him, too.  I made it clear: I didn\u2019t expect any interference, any at all.  And we had that discussion as \u2014 as he was leaving.<\/p>\n<p>Look, do I trust?  You know, I \u2014 \u201ctrust but verify,\u201d as the old saying goes.  That\u2019s where I am.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, we\u2019re in a competitive relationship, China and the United States.  But my responsibility is to \u2014 to make it \u2014 make this rational and manageable so it \u2014 so it doesn\u2019t result in conflict. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what I\u2019m all about, and that\u2019s what this is about: to find a place where we can come together and where we find mutual interests that \u2014 but, most importantly, from my perspective, that are in the interests of the American people.  That\u2019s what this is about, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we\u2019re in a situation where we agreed that fentanyl and its precur- \u2014 its precursors will be curbed substantially and the pill presses.  That\u2019s a big \u2014 that\u2019s a big movement.  They\u2019re doing \u2014 <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, you know, I won\u2019t \u2014 I guess I shouldn\u2019t identify where it occurred.  But, John, I know two people near where I live.  Their kids, literally, as I said \u2014 stra- \u2014 they woke up dead.   Someone had inserted in \u2014 whether the young man did or not \u2014 inserted, in a drug he was taking, fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>Again, I \u2014 I don\u2019t \u2014 I hope you don\u2019t have any experience with knowing anyone, but this is the largest killer of people in that age category.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, I guess the other thing I think is most important is that since I \u2014 I\u2019ve spent more time with President Xi than any world leader has, just because we were vice presidents.  His president was President Hu; I\u2019m not making a joke.  President Hu and \u2014 and President Obama thought we should get to know one another.  It wasn\u2019t appropriate for the president of United States to be walking \u2014 dealing with the vice president.<\/p>\n<p>So, we met \u2014 if I\u2019m not mistaken, I think it was 68 hours of just face to face \u2014 just us and a simultaneous interpreter.<\/p>\n<p>So, I \u2014 I think I know the man.  I know his modus operandi.  He\u2019s been \u2014 we have disagreements.  He has a different view than I have on a lot of things.  But he\u2019s been straight.  I don\u2019t mean that he\u2019s good, bad, or indifferent.  He\u2019s just been straight.<\/p>\n<p>And so, you know, we \u2014 as I said, the thing that I \u2014 I find most assuring is he raised and I fully agreed that if either one of us have any concern, Mr. Ambassador \u2014 any concern about anything between our nations or happening in our region, we should pick up the phone and then call one another, and we\u2019ll take the call.  That\u2019s an important progress.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m embarrassed \u2014 I think it\u2019s CBS, but I can\u2019t remember who with CBS.  I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Weijia Jiang with CBS.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Sorry.  (Laughs.)  I apologize.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You continue to stress the need to ensure competition with China does not veer into conflict or confrontation.  In the past two years, there have been more than 180 incidents of Chinese aggression against U.S aircraft in the Indo-Pacific and, of course, the ramped up military activity in the South China Sea.  If that does not count as veering into confrontation, then what does?  And did you issue any warnings Xi against continuing that behavior?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, none of it did end up in a con- \u2014 conflict.  Number one.<\/p>\n<p>Number two, you may recall: I did a few little things like get the Quad together, allow Australia to have access to new submarines, moving in the direction of working with the Philippines.  So, our actions speak louder than our words.  He fully understands.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And because of the news of the day, sir, I do have a question about the IDF raid on the Al-Shifa Hospital, as it tries to contain and take out the Hamas operative that is there.<\/p>\n<p>This week, you also said that we must protect hospitals.  So, when you weigh the target against the number of civilians inside the hospital, is the operation underway justified?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, look, we did discuss this, by the way.  We can\u2019t let it get out of control. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the situation: You have a circumstance where the first war crime is being committed by Hamas by having their headquarters, their military hidden under a hospital.  And that\u2019s a fact.  That\u2019s what\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n<p>Israel did not go in with a large number of troops, did not raid, did not rush everything down.  They\u2019ve gone in and they\u2019ve gone in with their soldiers carrying weapons or guns.  They were told \u2014 told \u2014 let me be precise.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful.  You have a circumstance where you know there is a fair number of Hamas terrorists.  Hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking Israel again like they did before, to where they were cutting babies\u2019 heads off to burn \u2014 burning women and children alive.<\/p>\n<p>And so, the idea that they\u2019re going to just stop and not do anything is not realistic.  This is not the carpet bombing.  This is a different thing.  They\u2019re going through these tunnels; they\u2019re going in the hospital. <\/p>\n<p>And if you notice, I \u2014 I was mildly preoccupied today.  I apologize, I didn\u2019t see everything.  But what I did see, whether \u2014 I haven\u2019t had it confirmed yet \u2014 I have asked my team to answer the question.  But what happened is they\u2019re also bringing in incubators.  They\u2019re bringing in other \u2014 other means to help the people in the hospital, and they\u2019ve given the doctors and \u2014 I\u2019m told \u2014 the doctors and nurses and personnel an opportunity to get out of harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n<p>So, this is a different story than I believe was occurring before, an indiscriminate bombing.<\/p>\n<p>What do you got?  Washington Post.  I think that\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, there you are.  Sorry.  I couldn\u2019t see you in the light.<\/p>\n<p>Q    That\u2019s okay.  Mr. President, Israel\u2019s war in Gaza has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in just over a month and created \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m sorry, you\u2019re breaking up.  I didn\u2019t \u2014 would you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    Israel\u2019s war in Gaza has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in just over a month and created a humanitarian disaster.  Israeli officials have said this war could take months or even years.  Have you communicated to Prime Minister Netanyahu any sort of deadline or timeframe for how long you are willing to support Israel in this operation?  Are you comfortable with the operation going on indefinitely?  And is there any deal underway to free hostages?  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, no \u2014 working backwards forward.  Look, I have been deeply involved in moving on the hostage negotiation, and I don\u2019t want to get ahead of myself here because I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened in the last four hours.<\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re \u2014 I have \u2014 we\u2019ve gotten great cooperation from the Qataris.  I\u2019ve spoken with them as well a number of times.  I think the pause and that Israeli \u2014 that the Israelis have agreed to is down to \u2014 I\u2019m getting into too much detail.  I know, Mr. Secretary.  I\u2019m going to stop.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2014 but I am \u2014 I am mildly hopeful.  I\u2019m mildly hopeful. <\/p>\n<p>With regard to when is this going to stop, I think it\u2019s going to stop when the \u2014 when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder and abuse and \u2014 and just do horrific things to the Israelis.  And they are in \u2014 and they still think they \u2014 at least as of this morning, they still thought they could.<\/p>\n<p>I \u2014 I guess the best way for me to say it is that I take a look.  The IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces, acknowledges they have an obligation to use as much caution as they can in going after their targets.  It\u2019s not like they\u2019re rushing in the hospital, knocking down doors, and, you know, pulling people aside and shooting people indiscriminately. <\/p>\n<p>But Hamas, as I said, said they plan on attacking the Israelis again.  And this is a terrible dilemma.  So, what do you do? <\/p>\n<p>I think that Israel is also taking risks themselves about their folks being killed one-to-one going through these hospital rooms, hospital halls.  But one thing has been established is that Hamas does have headquarters, weapons, materiel below this hospital and, I suspect, others.  But how long it\u2019s going to last, I don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n<p>Look, I made it clear to the Israelis that \u2014 and to Bibi and to his War Cabinet that I think the only ultimate answer here is a two-state solution that\u2019s real.  We got to get to the point where there is an ability to be able to even talk without worrying about whether or not we\u2019re just dealing with \u2014 they\u2019re dealing with Hamas \u2014 that\u2019s going to engage in the same activities they did over the past \u2014 on \u2014 on the 7th. <\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s \u2014 but I can\u2019t tell \u2014 I\u2019m not a fortuneteller.  I can\u2019t tell you how long it\u2019s going to last.  But I can tell you I don\u2019t think it ultimately ends until there\u2019s a two-state solution.  I made it clear to the Israelis I think it\u2019s a big mistake to \u2014 for them to think they\u2019re going to occupy Gaza and maintain Gaza.  I don\u2019t think that works. <\/p>\n<p>And so, we\u2019re going to \u2014 I think you\u2019re going to see efforts to bring along \u2014 well, I shouldn\u2019t go into it anymore, because that\u2019s \u2014 that\u2019s things I\u2019ve been negotiating with Arab countries and others about what the next steps are. <\/p>\n<p>But anyway, thank you all very much.  Appreciate it very much.<\/p>\n<p>MS. JEAN-PIERRE:  Thank you.  This ends the press conference.<\/p>\n<p>(Cross-talk.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, on the hostages, you said, \u201cWe\u2019re coming for you.\u201d  What did you mean when you said, \u201cWe\u2019re coming for you\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  When \u2014 when Hama- \u2014 well, Hamas said they plan on doing the same thing again \u2014 what \u2014 what they did \u2014 what they did on the 7th.  They\u2019re going to go in \u2014 they want to slaughter Israelis.  They want to do it again.  And they\u2019ve said it out loud.  They\u2019re not even kidding about it.  They\u2019re not backing off.<\/p>\n<p>And so, I just asked the rhetorical question, \u201cI wonder what we would do if that were the case?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Q    On the hostages though, you said, \u201cWe\u2019re coming for you.\u201d  What did you mean to the American hostages when you said \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 \u201cHang tight.  We\u2019re coming for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  What I meant was I\u2019m doing everything in my power to get you out \u2014 coming to help you to get you out.  I don\u2019t mean sending military in to get them.  Is \u2014 is that what you thought I might mean?<\/p>\n<p>Q    I \u2014 I defer to you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, no it\u2019s \u2014 it \u2014 I was not talking about a military.  I was talking about we \u2014 you\u2019re on our mind every single day.  Five to six times a day, I\u2019m working on how I can be helpful in getting the hostages released and have a period of time where there\u2019s a pause long enough to let that happen. <\/p>\n<p>And there is somewhere between 50 and 100 hostages there, we think.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And, sir, one is a three-year-old American child.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You\u2019re darn right it is.  That\u2019s why I\u2019m not going to stop till we get her.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>(Cross-talk.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Who can holler the loudest? <\/p>\n<p>Q    Can you just detail for us what kind of evidence the U.S. has seen that Hamas has a command center under Al-Shifa Hospital?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I can\u2019t tell you.  I won\u2019t tell you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you feel absolutely confident based on what you know \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 that that is the truth?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes. <\/p>\n<p>Q    And, Mr. President, after today, would you still refer to President Xi as a \u201cdictator\u201d?  This is a term that you used earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, look, he is.  I mean, he\u2019s a dictator in the sense that he \u2014 he is a guy who runs a country that \u2014 it\u2019s a communist country that is based on a form of government totally different than ours.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, we made progress.<\/p>\n<p>5:41 P.M. PST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Woodside, CA&#8230;I didn\u2019t know there were this many people in town. Please have a seat. As you know, I just concluded several hours of meetings with President Xi, and I believe they were some of the most constructive and productive discussions we\u2019ve had. I\u2019ve been meeting with President Xi since both of us were vice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Fullscreen-capture-11172023-85559-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=169767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169769,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169767\/revisions\/169769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/169768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=169767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=169767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=169767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}