Chinese President Xi Jinping: Asia Pacific Cannot Go Back To The Cold War Era

President of China Xi Jinping. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - The Asia-Pacific region must not return to Cold War-era tensions, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday, ahead of a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden expected as early as next week.

President Xi, in a recorded video message for the CEO forum on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by New Zealand, said attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds are doomed to failure.

"The Asia-Pacific region cannot and must not relapse into Cold War-era confrontation and division," President Xi Jinping said, citing Reuters November 11.

Xi's remarks are a clear reference to the United States' efforts with allies and partners in the region, including the Quad group with India, Japan, and Australia, to blunt what Washington sees as China's growing economic and military influence.

Earlier, China's military said on Tuesday it was conducting a combat readiness patrol toward the Taiwan Strait, after its Defense Ministry condemned a visit by a US congressional delegation to Taiwan, the democratically-ruled island claimed by Beijing.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the United States and its allies would take unspecified "action" if China used force to change the status quo over Taiwan.

Aggressive US diplomatic exchanges with China early in President Joe Biden's administration confused allies, and US officials believe direct engagement with President Xi is the best way to prevent relations between the world's two largest economies from spiraling into conflict.

The date for President Xi and President Biden's meeting has yet to be announced, but a person briefed on the matter said the meeting was expected as soon as next week.

President Xi indicated earlier this week in a letter at the annual dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations that China was prepared to properly manage differences with the United States.