Biden and Xi speak for first time since November summit amid global tensions
Source: CNN Politics
Published 11:30 AM EDT, Tue April 2, 2024
Washington CNN — President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, marking the first conversation between the leaders since their historic in-person summit in November and the latest in ongoing efforts by US and Chinese officials to defuse tensions between the two superpowers.
The call comes amid heavy global turbulence – the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, were expected to be topics of discussion. Other issues that have strained the Washington-Beijing relationship were also expected to come up, including Taiwan, China’s recent provocations in the South China Sea and Beijing’s human rights abuses.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss a number of issues where US and Chinese officials see room for cooperation, including countering narcotics, the fast-developing world of artificial intelligence and climate change.
The Biden-Xi chat represents a follow-through on a simple commitment that Biden made publicly after meeting with Xi for multiple hours in Woodside, California, last fall: That, moving forward, the two leaders would pick up the phone and call each other more often, with an eye towards preventing potentially dangerous misunderstandings between two of the most powerful countries in the world.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/02/politics/biden-xi-speak-first-time-november/index.html
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