Biden denies he's 'old friends' with China's Xi, says world questioning Beijing on COVID-19 origin probe

President Biden pushed back on the assertion that he and Chinese Xi Jinping were “old friends” at a press conference on Wednesday, arguing that the international community was questioning Beijing’s commitment to a transparent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You’ve spoken many times about how you have spent, perhaps, more time with President Xi than any other world leader," Doocy asked the president. "Is there going to come a time when you might call him, old friend to old friend, and ask him to open up China to the World Health Organization investigators who are trying to get to the bottom of COVID-19?" "Let’s get something straight: we know each other well, we’re not old friends," Biden said. "It’s just pure business." Biden met with Xi several times when he was vice president. He has claimed on multiple occasions that he has "traveled 17,000 miles" with Xi and developed a rapport with him.