A virtual working meeting is expected before year’s end between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Associated Press first reported on the development, citing a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly. The official said details about the meeting are still being worked out.
The agreement to hold the meeting came about as US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi began talks Wednesday in Switzerland. It’s reported the two met for six hours. It comes amid rising tensions between the two countries.
This is the first face-to-face meeting with Yang since the two sides met in Alaska in March. That meeting got off to a rocky start with both sides trading barbs. The US accused the Chinese delegation of “grandstanding”. Beijing officials fired back saying there was a “strong smell of gunpowder and drama” that was the fault of the Americans.
The White House says the latest meeting between the two sides in Switzerland follows up on President Biden’s September 9th call with the Chinese President. The call ended a nearly seven-month gap in direct communication between the two leaders.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated earlier this week she would soon hold direct talks with her Chinese counterpart. Tai says she wants to focus on pushing China to keep up with its purchase commitments under the Phase One Trade Agreement. That agreement is scheduled to end in December. The tariffs placed on China before the agreement went into effect, remain in place for now.
