New Delhi: Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden will hold the much-awaited meeting during the 2022 G20 Bali summit where the two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear ambition, many of the same issues, that loom over G20 which will commence on Tuesday.
A day before the meeting, Biden, who was in Cambodia assured the Asian leaders that US communication lines with China would stay open to avoid any conflict, with tough talks almost certain in the days ahead, news agency Reuters reported.
The United States would "compete vigorously" with Beijing while "ensuring competition does not veer into conflict", said Biden, stressing the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait during an address to the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. He arrived in Bali on Sunday night.
Tensions between the two countries sunk to their lowest in decades, marred by growing tensions in recent years over a host of issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, coercive trade practices and U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology.
The tensions escalated this year after United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, amid threats by China as it considers the self-governing island nation as its own territory. Pelosi’s visit was followed by several military drills by Beijing near Taiwan.
Since Biden became President in January 2021, Xi and Biden have had five phone or video calls and had met in person last during the Obama administration when Biden was the Vice President.
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As per the report citing White House, today’s meeting is unlikely to produce a joint statement, but it could help stabilise the relationship between the two countries.
Both the leaders will attend the opening of G20 Summit in Bali without the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend the meeting — the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in February — after the Kremlin said that Putin was too busy to attend.