Biden and China’s Xi Will Hold Virtual Summit on Monday

Politics|Biden and China’s Xi Will Hold Virtual Summit connected Monday

WASHINGTON — President Biden volition clasp a virtual acme with President Xi Jinping of China connected Monday arsenic the leaders of the world’s 2 largest economies face tensions implicit trade, cyberthreats, the climate, Taiwan and quality rights.

The summit, which was announced by the White House connected Friday, has been successful the works since aboriginal October, erstwhile Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s nationalist information adviser, held a six-hour gathering with Yang Jiechi, Beijing’s apical diplomat.

Jen Psaki, the White House property secretary, said successful a connection that Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi would person a video telephone connected Monday evening.

“The 2 leaders volition sermon ways to responsibly negociate the contention betwixt the United States and the P.R.C., arsenic good arsenic ways to enactment unneurotic wherever our interests align,” Ms. Psaki said, utilizing the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. “Throughout, President Biden volition marque wide U.S. intentions and priorities and beryllium wide and candid astir our concerns with the PRC.”

Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi spoke by telephone connected Sept. 9, but the 2 leaders person not met successful idiosyncratic since Mr. Biden’s inauguration. The Chinese person has not near his state for astir 2 years, retired of interest with the coronavirus pandemic.

China has been astatine the forefront of the Biden administration’s overseas policy.

Senior American officials said connected Friday that Mr. Biden has focused efforts connected ensuring that the United States could vie with China implicit the agelong run. They pointed to the transition this period of the bipartisan infrastructure measure arsenic grounds that the medication was superior astir not falling behind.

The officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity to preview the diplomatic conversations, said the president would marque wide that the United States was acceptable to prosecute successful stiff competition, but did not privation struggle with China and was anxious to cooperate successful areas wherever the interests of the 2 countries were aligned.

Those areas are apt to see discussions of efforts to bounds atomic proliferation and antagonistic planetary warming.

But the gathering betwixt Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi could besides beryllium a tense one, arsenic the 2 leaders woody with much contentious issues, including China’s subject buildup successful the South China Sea, Chinese hacking of firm and authorities machine systems successful the United States, quality rights violations by the Chinese government, and the ongoing struggle betwixt China and Taiwan.

The 2 leaders are besides expected to sermon the 2022 Winter Olympics, which are being held successful Beijing. It is not wide whether Mr. Xi volition invitation the president to be the Olympics, oregon if Mr. Biden would judge the invitation if it was offered.

American officials said they did not expect the gathering to nutrient announcements of circumstantial agreements betwixt the 2 countries.