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US President Joe Biden set to call China’s Xi
The conversation is the first between the two leaders since November and comes days after a meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday, where Sullivan conveyed Washington’s “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia”.
President Joe Biden will speak Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the US leader looks to shore up global pressure on Russia to halt its war in Ukraine.
A White House statement said that this was a part of “ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication” between the two countries. “The two leaders will discuss managing the competition between our countries as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern,” it said.
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The conversation is the first between the two leaders since November and comes days after a meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday, where Sullivan conveyed Washington’s “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia”, and warned Yang of “significant consequences” should China choose to support Russia at this moment.
The state Department subsequently said that any Chinese support for the Russians would affect not just Beijing’s ties with Washington DC, but with the rest of the world and the US would not “stand by” and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses.
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China’s foreign ministry on Thursday endorsed remarks by its envoy to Ukraine, in which Beijing delivered some of its most supportive comments yet toward the war-torn country.
Ambassador Fan Xianrong had told Lviv Governor Maksym Kozytskyi during a meeting Monday that China was a “friendly country for the Ukrainian people” and would “never attack Ukraine,” according to a summary posted on the Lviv government’s website. He went on to praise the strength and unity demonstrated by the Ukrainian people, in an apparent reference to their efforts to resist Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Asked about Fan’s comments on Thursday, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, “China surely supports these remarks by our ambassador in Ukraine. China supports all efforts that are conducive to easing the situation and for a political settlement.”
(With inputs from agencies)
