US: "Biden and Xi Jinping Likely to Talk Within Weeks"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The White House announced on the 19th (local time) that U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to have a dialogue within weeks.

According to major foreign media, a White House official confirmed this during a briefing on board the plane heading to South Korea for President Biden's first Asia tour. If President Biden and President Xi meet next week, it will be their fifth meeting. They are expected to discuss a range of contentious issues where the U.S. and China have sharp differences, including the Taiwan issue, North Korea's nuclear missile provocations, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Topics such as human rights and trade may also be addressed.

The official confirmed, "We conveyed a firm stance to China regarding North Korea's provocations." Additionally, the official said, "China is escalating tensions over the Taiwan issue," and noted that similar concerns were conveyed during a phone call between Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, and Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party.

Along with this, the White House stated that reports suggesting China is attempting to purchase strategic oil reserves from Russia do not view such actions as violating U.S. and Western sanctions imposed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, considering that since President Biden's inauguration in January last year, every meeting with President Xi has only confirmed differences in perception, there is speculation that it will be difficult to find solutions to major issues this time as well. The most recent meeting in March was a virtual summit to discuss responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but they failed to narrow their differences. At that time, President Biden warned that China could face severe consequences if it supports Russia. On the other hand, President Xi expressed opposition to sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other Western countries.