
Xi calls Biden 'my old friend' after US president had insisted they were not close
Fox News
China’s President Xi Jinping referred to President Biden as his “old friend” ahead of a highly anticipated summit meeting Monday evening that followed months of tense diplomatic relations between the two nations.
"It’s the first time for us to meet virtually. Although it’s not as good as a face-to-face meeting, I’m very happy to see my old friend," Xi said through a translator at the start of the meeting.
Biden has claimed on multiple occasions to have "traveled 17,000 miles" with Xi during his time as vice president in the Obama administration. But the president bristled during a June press conference when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked if Biden would call Xi "old friend to old friend" to demand China’s cooperation with efforts to investigate the origins of COVID-19.