Biden raises human rights and trade in call with Xi Jinping

Joe Biden has had his first phone call as president with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (Patrick Semansky/AP)

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 as well as other human rights concerns.

The two leaders spoke just hours after Mr 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 south-east Asian country.