On today's podcast:
1) Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping emerged from their first meeting in a year betting that a handful of small victories will arrest a surge in US-China tensions that has unnerved neighboring nations and threatened global economic growth.
2) President Joe Biden said he still believed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was a dictator, casting a shadow over what both sides had characterized as their most productive meeting to date.
3) The US Senate overwhelmingly approved a temporary funding measure to avert a government shutdown, delaying a partisan clash over federal spending until the new year and leaving out emergency aid to allies Ukraine and Israel.
4) The Cleveland Browns announce QB Deshaun Watson is out for the season.
Full transcript: Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. We begin with the high stakes meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and she Jinping. They met for more than four hours on the sidelines of the APEX summit in San Francisco. President Biden called his discussions with China's leader some of the most productive he's ever had. I've been meeting with President Sheeshu's both us for vice president over ten years ago. Our meetings have always been canda stradeforward. We haven't always agreed, but they've been straightforward, and today build on the groundwork related over the past several months of high level diplomacy between our teams, We've made some important progress, I believe, and President Biden's words were echoed by President she China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States. The fundamental princippos that we follow in handling China US relations are mutual respect, peaceful co existence, and wing wing corporation. China's president spoke there through an interpreter, but after the gathering, President Biden was asked whether he still considers China's leader a dictator. Look, he is. I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs the country. That is collin Cocu based on formagart totally different than ours. And after President Biden's remark, China's Foreign ministry called the statement extremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation. Well Nathan asked for the actual meeting, Both Biden and Shi jinping Is say they reached a number of agreements. Bloomberg's ed Baxter has that part of the story, as well as fentanyl. High on President Biden's list is opening communication between the country's militaries. We're reassuming military to military contact direct contacts. As a lot of you press know follow this that's been cut off and it's been worse, and that's how accidents happened. Biden also saying the two agreed on finding ways to control ai Biden also says he was assured that China has no plan to invade Taiwan. Now. She did say that he told Biden that the US should not have plans to suppress China and also ask for sanctions to be removed. In San Francisco, I'm at Baxter Bloomberg Radio, and thank you. Some of Wall Street's elite attended dinner with Si Jinping. Black Rocks Larry Fink and Stephen Schwartzman of Blackstone were among the top executives seated at the Chinese leader's table, according to a program seen by Bloomberg News. Other big names and attendance were Apple's Tim Cook, Bridgewater associates Ray Dalio, and Pesla says Elon Musk also met with President she yesterday. Well Nathan some major developments out of Washington to avoid a government shut down. In a late night vote, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the House's short term spending bill. Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports from Washington. President Biden is expected to sign the bill that will extend government funding at current levels through two deadlines, one in mid January, the other in early February, but the bill did not include aid for Israel nor Ukraine. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer says that will be lawmaker's next priority after the holiday break. Both sides genuinely care about app