Chinese Premier Li's message to Biden: "China's development is not a threat, but an opportunity"

Chinese Premier Li Jiang reportedly stated that “China’s development is not a threat but an opportunity for the US” during her meeting with US President Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in India. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed at a daily press conference in Beijing that Premier Li had a brief meeting with Biden during the summit. Spokesperson Mao stated that Li emphasized that “China’s development is not a threat but an opportunity for the US” during the meeting. Mao reported that the premier expressed his desire for increased contacts between the two countries and that President Biden also said that “the US wants to see the Chinese economy grow and will not harm China’s growth.” The informal meeting was the highest-level contact between the two leaders since their face-to-face meeting at the G20 Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, last year. Premier Li represented China in place of President Xi Jinping, who did not attend the summit in New Delhi. Xi had become the first Chinese president not to attend the G20 summits in person since 2008, when they were held regularly. Following the summit in India, US President Biden had said during his visit to Vietnam that Xi would not attend the G20 summit, "He is currently dealing with some difficulties," indicating that China was facing "economic difficulties." Biden stated that he had met with Chinese Premier Li Jiang during the G20 and said, "We talked about stability. It was not a confrontational conversation at all."