US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are likely to meet virtually next week. The two sides have agreed to hold the meeting before US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s diplomat Yang Jiechi meet in Zurich at end of the year.
Given China's domestic COVID-19 restrictions and Xi's aversion to travel, Washington was aiming for a video conference conversation in November.
The meeting's stakes are high – Washington and Beijing have been at odds on everything from the origins of the virus to China's growing nuclear arsenal – but Biden's team has set low expectations for particular outcomes so far.
Experts believe the two sides may work toward a compromise to ease visa restrictions for each other's journalists, and that a deal to reopen consulates in Chengdu and Houston that were closed due to a diplomatic disagreement in 2020 might help alleviate the mood.
Xi Jinping, on Tuesday, said that China is willing to work with the US on the condition of ‘mutual respect,’ CNBC reported. In a letter addressed to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a New York-based non-profit, Jinping wrote, “Right now, China-U.S. relations are at a critical historical juncture.”
“Both countries will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”
“Following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, China stands ready to work with the United States to enhance exchanges and cooperation across the board.”
US-China relations have been tense in the last few years, especially after Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports from China. Trump, during his tenure also blacklisted several Chinese companies, preventing them from buying critical supplies from US businesses.
Besides this, the US has time and again brought up Beijing’s mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims, imposing the National Security Law in Hong Kong and its aggressive stance over Taiwan.