Biden and Xi Jinping may hold talks in the coming weeks

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping may hold telephone talks in the coming weeks.

The conversation between the two heads of state was allowed on Thursday by the assistant to the American leader for national security, Jake Sullivan, at a briefing for journalists on board Biden's plane bound for Seoul.
He was asked if he discussed a possible telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries on Wednesday during a conversation with the head of the office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Commission on Foreign Affairs, Politburo member Yang Jiechi. "It didn't happen. Although I wouldn't be surprised if in the coming weeks President Biden and the President of [China] Xi [Jinping] will talk [by phone] again. But this [conversation with Yang Jiechi] did not lay the foundation for a [possible] call between [the two leaders]," the White House press pool quoted Sullivan as saying.
He said that during negotiations with a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, he "directly spoke about the concern" of the United States about the nuclear program and the DPRK ballistic missile development program. "It's not in China's interests. This is not in America's interests. <...> China should consider all possible steps to reduce the likelihood of provocative actions," Sullivan added.
He was asked why representatives of the US administration rarely communicate with their Chinese counterparts lately. Biden's adviser noted that on Wednesday he had a "good long conversation" with Yang Jiechi, and "seven or eight weeks ago" they met in Rome. According to Sullivan, the White House is not "slowing down or limiting high-level diplomatic engagement with China."
On November 16 last year, Biden and Xi Jinping held an online meeting, during which they discussed a wide range of issues of cooperation. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, following the consultations, the leaders of the two countries reached consensus on a number of issues and expressed mutual readiness to strengthen contacts. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office as President of the United States in January 2021. Earlier, they exchanged messages and made phone calls, the last telephone conversation between Biden and Xi Jinping took place on September 10.