Biden expected to bring up Chinese economic practices, Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine in first meeting with Xi as president

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden volition sermon a scope of geopolitical challenges adjacent week successful his archetypal face-to-face gathering with Chinese President Xi Jinping since helium ascended to the White House 2 years ago.

"We expect this gathering to beryllium an in-depth and substantive speech betwixt the leaders aimed astatine amended knowing 1 another's priorities and intentions," a elder Biden medication authoritative told reporters connected a call.

The gathering betwixt the 2 leaders volition instrumentality spot Monday up of the G-20 Summit successful Bali, Indonesia.

"I expect the president volition beryllium honorable astir a fig of our concerns," added the official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity.

The authoritative said that Biden volition rise concerns astir harmful economical practices, Chinese enactment that "threatens bid and stableness crossed the Taiwan Strait, arsenic good arsenic our long-standing concerns astir quality rights violations."

Biden told reporters astatine the White House connected Wednesday that helium wants to code the mounting tensions betwixt Washington and Beijing.

"What I privation to bash with him erstwhile we speech is laic retired what each of our reddish lines are and recognize what helium believes to beryllium successful the captious nationalist interests of China, what I cognize to beryllium the captious interests of the United States," Biden said. "And find whether oregon not they struggle with 1 another."

The 2 leaders person spoken 5 times during Biden's presidency and antecedently discussed a face-to-face meeting during a two-hour telephone successful precocious July.

Xi has remained adjacent to location since the commencement of the Covid-19 pandemic. He embarked connected his archetypal travel past period to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The elder Biden medication authoritative declined to elaborate connected Covid-19 mitigation measures for the meeting, adding that wellness protocols were inactive being worked retired by beforehand teams.

The telephone successful July came arsenic Biden drew Beijing's ire by suggesting that the U.S. volition support Taiwan if it was attacked by China. During the discussion, Xi told Biden not to "play with fire" implicit Taiwan. The White House has repeatedly said the remarks bash not correspond a alteration successful U.S. overseas policy.

At the time, Beijing besides accused U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of further straining the bilateral narration with a travel to Taiwan, which China considers portion of its territory. Pelosi was the highest-ranking U.S. authoritative to sojourn the land successful 25 years.

In retaliation for Pelosi's visit, Beijing imposed sanctions against her and launched live-fire subject drills astir the island. Taiwanese defence officials called the exercises "highly provocative."

Tensions betwixt Beijing and Washington, the world's 2 largest economies, had already soared to caller heights nether the Trump administration.

Former President Donald Trump placed blasted squarely connected China for a wide scope of grievances, including intelligence spot theft, unfair commercialized practices and the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden has antecedently said he would enactment much intimately with allies in bid to equine pushback against China's economical abuses. He has besides described Beijing arsenic America's "most superior competitor.

Biden is besides expected to rise concerns astir Xi's narration with Russian President Vladimir Putin arsenic Moscow continues its months agelong battle connected its ex-Soviet neighbor.

"I deliberation the president volition beryllium honorable and nonstop with President Xi astir however we spot the concern successful Ukraine with Russia's warfare of aggression," the authoritative said.

"This is simply a taxable that the president and President Xi person spoken astir respective times before. They spoke astir it extensively successful March successful their video telephone and past they spoke astir it again successful July, truthful it's portion of an ongoing speech betwixt the 2 of them," the idiosyncratic added.

Weeks earlier the Kremlin's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, Putin traveled to Beijing to conscionable with Xi and aboriginal issued a memorandum expressing a "no limits" narration betwixt their nations.

Two weeks aft Russian troops poured implicit Ukraine's borders, officials from the United States and China met to sermon the Kremlin's war arsenic good arsenic different areas of communal concern.

A elder medication authoritative described the talks, which were held successful Rome, arsenic "intense" and spanning astatine slightest 7 hours.

The official, who spoke to reporters connected the information of anonymity, said Biden's nationalist information advisor, Jake Sullivan, conveyed to China's apical diplomat, Yang Jiechi, that the U.S. is acrophobic Beijing whitethorn effort to assistance Russia blunt planetary sanctions.

"What I would accidental successful wide is that we bash person heavy concerns astir China's alignment with Russia," the authoritative said. "The nationalist information advisor was nonstop astir those concerns and the imaginable implications and consequences of definite actions."