SAN DIEGO: US President Joe Biden said on Monday following unveiling details of a major submarine agreement with the UK and Australia aimed at countering Beijing that he (President Biden) expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping soon. However, the US President did not provide details about his meeting with President Xi Jinping.
US-China ties
Asked at a meeting with Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego if he was worried that Beijing would see the AUKUS submarine agreement as aggression, Joe Biden answered “no.” Asked if he would speak to President Xi soon, Joe Biden replied “yes,” but to another question as to whether he (Biden) would tell journalists when they would hold a meeting with President Xi, he replied “no.”
US President Joe Biden said in February that he expected to talk to President Xi over the matter of suspected Chinese balloons, but no such call has been announced by US officials.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan had said earlier that Washington wanted to re-establish regular communications with Beijing and President Joe Biden expected to talk with President Xi by phone sometime following China’s government returns to work after its annual National People’s Congress.
The AUKUS deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines is aimed at countering Beijing in the Indo-Pacific and China has denounced it as an unlawful act of nuclear proliferation.
