Biden promises candour on human rights, Xi greets 'old friend' in talks

US President Joe Biden told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he hoped to have a candid conversation about human rights and security issues

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping stressed their responsibility to the rest of the world to avoid conflict as the heads of the two top global economies opened their closely watched talks on Monday.

Calling Biden an "old friend," Xi said the two sides must increase communication and cooperation to solve the many challenges they face. Biden promised to address areas of concern, including human rights and other issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Maybe I should start more formally, although you and I have never been that formal with one another," Biden said from a conference table