That’s what Xi said: China-US summit in quotes

China's President Xi Jinping attends the "Senior Chinese Leader Event" held by the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California, on 15 November 2023. The APEC Summit takes place through 17 November. (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA / POOL / AFP)
President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping spent several hours together at a luxury retreat near San Francisco on Wednesday.
Here are some of the more memorable quotes that came out of the first tete-a-tete for a year.
Elbow room
"Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed."
Xi says there is space for both the United States and China, as competition heats up for dominance in the 21st century.
Inside voice, Joe, inside voice
"Well look he is," Biden said when a reporter asked if he would still call the Chinese leader a dictator, possibly trashing weeks of careful preparation and mood setting.
"I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who's running a country, a communist country, that's based on a form of government totally different than ours."
Hello? It's me
"He and I agreed that each one of us could pick up the phone, call directly, and will be heard immediately."
After years in which the two sides have not done a great deal of chatting, Biden says that communication is going to get a lot easier.
Xi may be the face I can't forget
"We've known each other for a long time," Biden said of Xi, a man he spent hours with when they were both vice presidents of their respective countries.
"We haven't always agreed, which is not a surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been candid and straightforward and useful."
