Xi calls Biden 'my old friend' after US president had insisted they were not close

China’s President Xi Jinping referred to President Biden as his "old friend" ahead of a highly anticipated virtual summit meeting Monday evening that did not produce any major breakthroughs.

Xi’s choice of words to describe his relationship with Biden contradicted the way both the president and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki have characterized their relationship. Biden has touted his rapport with Xi as an advantage during increasingly fraught diplomatic dealings between the US and China, even as he has disputed the idea they are friends.

"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.

President Joe Biden listens as he meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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.

"Let’s get something straight: we know each other well, we’re not old friends," Biden said. "It’s just pure business."

Psaki reiterated that assertion just hours before the meeting, telling reporters during her daily press briefing that Biden "still does not consider him an old friend."

President Joe Biden, left, speaks as he meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on screen, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, right, also participated in the meeting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The White House set low expectations for the meeting, and no major announcements or even a joint statement were delivered. Still, White House officials said the two leaders had a substantive exchange.

Both Biden and Xi spoke of clear communication as the key to long-term diplomatic relations.

"Right now, both China and the United States are at critical stages of development, and humanity lives in a global village, and we face multiple challenges together," Xi said.

Biden called for the establishment of "common sense guardrails" to prevent disputes from escalating to conflict and for collaboration on climate change and other "vital global issues." 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses a central conference on work related to people's congresses, held from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14 in Beijing, capital of China. (Photo by Wang Ye/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Ye/Xinhua via Getty Images)

"All countries need to play by the same rules of the road. It’s why the United States is always going to stand up for our interests and values and those of our allies and partners. If past is prologue, I’m sure that today we’ll be discussing those areas where we have concerns, from human rights to economics to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific," Biden said.

Republicans have accused the Biden administration of failing to hold Beijing accountable on human rights for the sake of pursuing its climate agenda.

"As he turns a blind eye to human rights atrocities to pursue his political agenda, Biden has allowed China to threaten American security and our allies’ sovereignty, while undermining the advancement of freedom across the globe," the Republican National Committee said in a statement shortly before the start of the leaders’ meeting.

Attendees of the summit meeting included members of Biden’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as well as Xi’s closest government advisers.