China has welcomed a virtual meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden as raising hopes for better relations, while the U.S. was more muted on the talks.

The video conference, which took place Tuesday morning in Beijing and Monday evening in Washington, lasted more than three hours. It was the two leaders' first formal meeting since President Biden took office.

Both sides held firm to their positions on the issues that divide Washington and Beijing, with Xi warning that the U.S. and Taiwan are playing with fire over the self-governing island that China claims.

Both countries are aiming to ratchet down a year of tensions and end a sharp deterioration in relations.