U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday raised to Chinese President Xi Jinping a number of thorny issues including human rights abuses during their first phone call since he took office last month, but the two also signaled they will remain open to cooperation.

Biden underscored his "fundamental concerns" about what the United States views as Beijing's unfair economic practices, crackdown on Hong Kong, human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and "increasingly assertive actions" in other areas including toward Taiwan, the White House said in a statement.

He also affirmed that preserving a "free and open Indo-Pacific" is among his priorities, referring to an idea that has been pursued by the United States, Japan and other U.S. allies amid China's growing clout.

But the president tweeted that he told Xi he will "work with China when it benefits the American people."

The two leaders also exchanged views on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, and the "shared" challenges of global health security, climate change and preventing weapons proliferation, according to the White House.

Biden is committed to pursuing "practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies," it also said.

Xi, for his part, asserted that issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China's far-west region of Xinjian are internal affairs and concern its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The United States should respect China's core interests and act prudently, Xi stressed, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

But Xi also said there is a need to improve bilateral relations, saying cooperation is the "only" right choice for both of them.

Xi proposed that the two countries "re-establish their various dialogue mechanisms so as to accurately understand each other's policy intentions and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation," Xinhua reported.

The conversation took place as bilateral relations have plummeted to their lowest point in decades under the previous U.S. administration of Donald Trump that took an increasingly confrontational stance against China toward the end of his four-year term.

The Biden administration has acknowledged the need to maintain a tough stance against Beijing as seen in the Trump administration, calling the Asian economic powerhouse the "most serious competitor" to the United States.

At the same time, the current administration has also been critical of Trump's unilateralist "America First" foreign and trade policy, which has undermined alliances and multilateralism while resulting in a bruising tit-for-tat tariff war between the United States and China.

Biden said earlier Wednesday that the Pentagon will review its strategy on China through a new task force that is expected to come up with recommendations "within the next few months."

"We need to meet the growing challenges posed by China to keep peace and defend our interests in the Indo-Pacific and globally," Biden said during his first visit to the Defense Department since becoming the commander-in-chief on Jan. 20.

The so-called China Task Force, which will be joined by 15 civilian and uniformed Defense Department employees, will make recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin regarding "key priorities and decision points so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters," Biden said.

High-priority topics to be examined by the team include technology, intelligence, alliances and the U.S. military posture, according to the Pentagon.

The task force will be led by Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner, who served from 2015 to 2017 as deputy national security adviser to then Vice President Biden.

Noting that the work requires "a whole-of-government effort, bipartisan cooperation in Congress and strong alliances and partnerships," Biden said, "That's how we'll meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win the competition of the future."