The United States President, Biden, will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, according to the White House, as the US attempts to manage China’s relations with Russia in the midst of the escalating invasion of Ukraine.
According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the discussion is part of “ongoing efforts to preserve open channels of communication between” the US and China.
“The two leaders will address how to manage our countries’ competition, as well as Russia’s war on Ukraine and other subjects of mutual concern,” she said.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi last spoke in November for a nearly three-hour virtual summit.
Their conversation comes after a meeting in Rome on Monday between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi, which was described as a “intense, seven-hour session” by a senior administration official.
As Russia continues its attacks in Ukraine, the Biden administration has “serious concerns about China’s alignment with Russia,” according to the person, and Sullivan was “direct” about the ramifications of “certain actions.”
Sullivan “addressed a range of topics in US-China ties, with extensive discussion of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” according to a White House summary of the meeting, and emphasized the “importance of keeping open channels of communication” between the US and China.
While many countries have distanced themselves from Russia since its invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago, and the US and the West have united in imposing steep costs on Moscow for its war, two US officials told CBS News earlier this week that Russia has turned to China for support and military aid and equipment.
Officials from both China and Russia have denied that Moscow sought Beijing’s help.
