A senior U.S. administration official revealed today, Friday, that "China and the United States are working to arrange a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, following hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi." Senior officials in the U.S. administration, who provided a briefing to reporters via phone, did not mention any details regarding whether the Biden-Xi meeting would actually take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month in San Francisco.
U.S. officials stated that "Wang's meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan took place over two days and lasted for nine hours, describing these interactions as 'frank and detailed'." They added that "senior advisors to Biden raised Washington's main concerns, which include the need to restore military channels between the two countries, Beijing's actions in the East and South China Seas, Taiwan, human rights, and issues regarding Americans detained in China."
There were also "frank exchanges" between Blinken and Wang regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The main focus of the discussions, which seemingly showed some momentum, was the arrangement for the anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit next month in San Francisco.
One high-ranking administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated to reporters: "We are making preparations for such a meeting." They added, "It is clear that Chinese leaders often publicly affirm that the timing of the visit is very close, so I will leave it to the Chinese side to determine whether they will issue this announcement and when." Wang had previously met with Biden, making him the first Chinese foreign minister to visit Washington since 2018, and he also held discussions with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
