"It's Not True": Joe Biden Denies China's Xi Turned Down Meeting Offer
NDTV
The Financial Times cited multiple people briefed on a 90-minute call between the two leaders last week as saying Xi did not take Biden up on the offer and instead insisted that Washington adopt a less strident tone toward Beijing.
US President Joe Biden denied on Tuesday a media report that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, last week turned down an offer from Biden for a face-to-face meeting.
The Financial Times cited multiple people briefed on a 90-minute call between the two leaders last week as saying Xi did not take Biden up on the offer and instead insisted that Washington adopt a less strident tone toward Beijing.
"It's not true," Biden said when asked by reporters if he was disappointed that Xi did not want to meet with him.
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that the report was "not an accurate portrayal of the call. Period."
