China is ready to properly manage differences with the United States, President Xi Jinping has said, ahead of a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden.
In a letter read on Tuesday by China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, at a dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations in Washington, Xi said China was ready to cooperate with the United States on regional and global issues. A date has not been announced for the Xi-Biden meeting but a person briefed on the matter said it was expected to be as soon as next week.
Stakes for the meeting are high - Washington and Beijing have been sparring on issues from the origins of the pandemic to China’s expanding nuclear arsenal - but Biden’s team has so far set low expectations for specific outcomes.
This came even as China reacted with fury on Wednesday to a visit by a delegation of US lawmakers to Taiwan.
China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory. Taiwan’s foreign ministry confirmed the visit was arranged by the American Institute in Taiwan - Washington’s de facto embassy on the island - and said it would provide “necessary administrative assistance”.
Beijing responded by saying the “risky and provocative actions” are “doomed to end in failure”. “Colluding with Taiwan independence forces is a dangerous game and playing with fire will result in burning themselves,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a press briefing, calling the visit a “clumsy performance”.