China chalking out talks between Xi and Biden

WASHINGTON: Beijing is seeking a meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping next month if the first high-level US-China talks in Alaska starting on Thursday are productive, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Biden-Xi meeting as envisioned by Chinese officials would be organised around Earth Day on April 22 to show both leaders are focused on combating climate change, one of the people said.

Biden is already set to gather global leaders together on that day to push the world for greater ambition in curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The prospect of the meeting was first reported by

The Wall Street Journal.

Both the US and China have played down expectations for the talks in Alaska, which are set to run on Thursday and Friday. US secretary of state Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will represent the US, while foreign minister Wang Yi and politburo member Yang Jiechi will speak for China.

China’s expectations for the meeting aren’t “too high”, Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US, said in comments reported by state-run CCTV. It will be a success if it starts a “honest, constructive and rational” dialogue, he added.

Both countries have sparred over how to describe the talks, with the US disputing China’s portrayal of the meeting as a “high-level strategic dialogue”.

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