Biden, Xi pledge to dial tensions down at meet

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping emerged from their first meeting in a year betting that a handful of small victories will arrest a surge in US-China tensions that has unnerved neighbouring nations and threatened global economic growth.

Expectations were low owing to deep-seated differences over trade, Taiwan and human rights, and even the summit's modest accomplishments their meeting lasted four hours on Wednesday - were hardwon. Those included deals to try to address the fentanyl crisis and to restore military communications severed after thenHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year.

"We're in a competitive relationship, China and the United States," Biden told reporters. "But my responsibility is to make this rational and manageable so it doesn't result in conflict. That's what I'm all about."

For his part, Xi sought to ease concerns that the US and China were on a path toward a military clash, saying China "will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone".

"China never bets against the United States and never interferes in its internal affairs," Xi said in remarks later that evening during a dinner with CEOs including Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook and BlackRock Inc.'s Larry Fink.

"China has no intention to challenge the United States or to unseat it."

In a sign of how much remains to be done, there was no evidence of progress on bigger issues like US curbs on microchip exports, tariffs or tensions in the South China Sea, where Chinese and US ships and planes have had a series of provocative encounters. Xi didn't get what he needs most-deals to help boost the Chinese economy, which is still struggling to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.