Biden and Xi meet in Bali as the G20 Summit commences

It’s finally happened. The leaders of two of the world’s biggest superpowers, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, have met face-to-face in Bali.

This is the first time the pair have met in person since Biden took office, and it was a warm start to proceedings.

Following handshakes and smiles for the cameras, Biden said both countries should manage their differences and prevent competition from ever becoming conflict.

BIDEN: "I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War. […] I do not think there's any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan." pic.twitter.com/ytjVRXC2gl

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 14, 2022

President Xi was seemingly very much of the same mindset, speaking about wanting to elevate the diplomatic relationship.

Xi also talked about the importance of meeting face-to-face. This is noteworthy considering he’s barely left China since the pandemic started.

Of course, there was plenty for them to discuss some controversial topics such as Taiwan, and the increasing tension between Washington and Beijing.

Russian diplomat arrives in Bali

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also in Bali.

There were reports that he’d been hospitalised but these were quickly dismissed by the Foreign Ministry, which called them fake.

Sergei Lavrov tells western journalists to “tell the truth more frequently”…after they cited unknown Indonesian sources alleging he was at the hospital due to heart problems. An allegation quickly dispelled by Lavrov & the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. pic.twitter.com/i4c6IRZNLW

— The Convo Couch (@theconvocouch) November 14, 2022

Lavrov is in Bali in place of Vladimir Putin, who declined his invitation to attend the summit.

Despite Putin’s absence, there’ll be plenty of talk about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the coming days.

One man who has been very strong on Putin and Russia is the new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

This is the first real major global event for him since he took over from Liz Truss just a couple of weeks ago.