WASHINGTON—President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a virtual meeting Monday night with words designed to cool tensions between the two countries, as the leaders seek to work through areas of disagreement between the world’s largest economies.
“It seems to me our responsibility as leaders of China and the United States is to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended,” Mr. Biden said shortly before 8 p.m. ET, speaking to his counterpart via video.
