Old friends?' For Xi and Biden, not necessarily

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese leader Xi Jinping greeted U.S. President Joe Biden as "old friend" at the start of their first video meeting, using an expression that Biden has pushed back on.

In China, the expression "lao peng you" connotes fondness and shows a level of familiarity and trust, and when said by Xi, 68, reflects a shared history that dates to August 2011,

when the two held hours of conversations and travelled in Sichuan province - before either had reached the highest office.