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Biden, Xi planning ‘virtual bilateral’ meeting by end of year, says White House

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Agence France-Presse

<p>President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are planning to meet by video link &quot;before the end of the year,&quot; a senior US official said Wednesday.</p><p>There is an &quot;agreement in principle&quot; for the &quot;virtual bilateral,&quot; the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.</p><p>&quot;The president said how nice it would be to see Xi which he has not done for some years,&quot; the official said. &quot;We would expect them to have the ability to see one another, even if only virtually.&quot;</p><p>The official cited news reports that Xi will not attend the upcoming G20 gathering of leaders in Rome, which would have been a natural place for Biden to arrange a bilateral. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/16/21/us-australia-britain-form-indo-pacific-security-pact">Australia to get nuclear subs in new US, British partnership</a></li></ul><p>The virtual meeting was announced after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met in Zurich with China&#x27;s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi. The senior official said those talks lasted six hours.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/22/21/biden-us-not-seeking-cold-war-as-he-vows-to-lead">Biden: US not seeking ‘Cold War’, as he vows to lead</a></li></ul><p>Sullivan&#x27;s trip continues an uptick in contact between Beijing and Washington, as Biden argues for establishing &quot;guardrails&quot; for the growing contest between the two powers.</p><p>Tension is rising over China&#x27;s aggressive posture toward Taiwan, the US decision to sell nuclear submarines to Australia, trade disputes and human rights violations against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.</p><p>On Monday, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she would soon be talking to her Chinese counterpart, as a massive trade dispute rumbles on with no end in sight.</p><p>After the Zurich meeting, Sullivan is due to visit Brussels and Paris, where he will also &quot;debrief his meeting with Director Yang to our European allies and partners,&quot; the White House said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/18/21/white-house-considering-talks-between-biden-chinas-xi">White House considering talks between Biden, China&#x27;s Xi</a></li></ul><p>Biden, who has known Xi for years, has held two phone calls with the Chinese leader since becoming president. The second, lasting 90 minutes, took place last month.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/14/21/blinken-to-stress-aseans-central-role-in-ministerial-meeting">Blinken to stress ASEAN&#x27;s central role in ministerial meeting</a></li></ul><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1712595" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The virtual meeting was announced after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met in Zurich with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi.