'China Beginning To Change Rules Of The Game': US Prez Biden In Vietnam Calls For Stable Indo-Pacific

The US president said he had met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the sideline of the G20 Summit, a meeting the White House had not announced, and discussed "stability".

US President Joe Biden ( Image Source :Getty )

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his disappointment in China, claiming that it has begun to change some of the rules of the game in trade and other issues.

While addressing a press conference in Vietnam, Biden accused Beijing of seeking to bend the international order to its will.

"One of the things that is going on now is China is beginning to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues," Biden said.

Biden on Sunday flew in to Hanoi straight after attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

Speaking at the conference, Biden said that he wanted to establish clear ground rules for relations. "I don't want to contain China. I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it's all about."

The US president said he had met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the sideline of the G20 Summit, a meeting the White House had not announced, and discussed "stability".

Biden said, "When I was spending a lot of time talking with President Xi, he asked why was I going to have the Quad, meaning Australia, India, Japan, the United States? And I said to maintain stability. It's not about Isolating China. It's about making sure the rules of the road, everything from airspace and space in the ocean, the international rules of the road are abided by."

Touching upon China's current economic slowdown, Biden said, "I think that Prime Minister Xi has some difficulties right now. All countries end up with difficulties, and he has some economic difficulties, he's working his way through. I want to see China succeed economically, but I want to see him succeed by the rules."

Biden, who had arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the G20 Summit, also held wide-ranging talks with Modi and they vowed to deepen and diversify the bilateral major defence partnership. 

 Biden also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership and his hospitality and hosting the G20.