Biden presses Xi on HK, Xinjiang

Joe Biden challenged Chinese leader Xi Jinping on human rights, trade and regional muscle-flexing, in their first call since the new US president took office. 

An increasingly assertive Beijing has tested US patience since Xi came to power, and under former president Donald Trump found itself on the receiving end of trade tariffs as relations frayed. Biden is under pressure at home and abroad to maintain the stance that Trump adopted.

His call on Wednesday was about setting the tone for the relationship, at a time when many in the US and the wider world blame China for failing to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which was first discovered in Wuhan.

Biden "underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing's coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan," the White House said after the call.

Washington and its Asian allies have bristled at China's expansion in the South China Sea, a huge and economically vital waterway where Beijing has built militarized islands, despite multiple overlapping claims from neighbouring states.

The US has repeatedly sailed warships through the area to press the point that the sea is globally recognized as international waters.

The two leaders also spoke about the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and weapons proliferation, the White House said.

Chinese state media reported simply that the two sides "exchanged in-depth views on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues."