US President Joe Biden has said that the Russian war against Ukraine and the situation in Gaza Strip were discussed at the talks with Xi Jingping, his Chinese counterpart.

"Today, President Xi and I also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues, including Russia’s refusal and brutal war to stop the war – and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and – and the conflict in Gaza," Biden said at a press conference after more than four hours of talks, as reported by Voice of America.

Biden stated that a number of other global issues were discussed, including human rights, arrest of American citizens in China and Taiwan’s problems.

"And as I always do, I raised areas where the United States has concerns about the PRC’s actions, including detained and ex- — and exit-banned U.S. citizens, human rights, and corrective — coercive activities in the South China Sea.  We discussed all three of those things," Biden said.

He added that he had also talked about the situation around Taiwan at the meeting.

 "I also stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," Biden noted.

Biden and Xi met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – this is their first personal meeting this year and Xi’s first visit to the US in the last four years.

Before the talks, Biden stated that his goal was to restore normal communication between the two countries, including contacts between the military.

Relations between the two countries have been tense in the last few years due to the aggravation of geopolitical disputes in South-Eastern Asia, specifically due to the issue of Taiwan, economic competition and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.