Joe Biden in call with China's Xi Jinping raises human rights, trade

The two leaders spoke just hours after Biden announced plans for a Pentagon task force to review US national security strategy in China.

Joe Biden on Wednesday held his first call as president with Xi Jinping, pressing the Chinese leader about trade and Beijing's crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong and other human rights concerns.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US. (Bloomberg Photo)

The two leaders spoke just hours after Biden announced plans for a Pentagon task force to review US national security strategy in China and after the new US president announced he was levying sanctions against Myanmar's military regime following this month's coup in the southeast Asian country.

A White House statement said Biden raised concerns about Beijing’s “coercive and unfair economic practices." Biden also pressed Xi on Beijing's crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses against Uighur and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and its actions toward Taiwan.