Joe Biden and Xi Jinping likely to discuss Taiwan, Hong Kong later this year

#China #HongKong #Taiwan

Washington and Beijing agreed in principle for their leaders to meet virtually before 2021 ends
The decision was made after a six-hour long meeting between diplomats from both sides
China's actions in South China Sea, Taiwan and Hong Kong were main talking points of the meeting

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Updated: October 07 2021 01:28:01 AM ET Washington D.C., DC, USA

The United States administration confirmed on Wednesday that the governments of both the countries have agreed for their presidents to hold a virtual meeting before the end of this year.

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have both agreed in principle , a senior US administration official said following high-level talks between the two super powers.

The meeting, held behind closed doors at an airport hotel in the Swiss city of Zurich, was aimed at improving communication between the two countries and their administrations.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, met for their first face-to-face encounter since an unusually public and acrid airing of grievances in Alaska in March.

In the meeting, Sullivan raised concerns about contentious issues such as Chinese actions in the South China Sea, as well as on human rights and Beijing’s stances on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, according to the White House.

The talks, which lasted six hours, were described as constructive and candid by both Beijing and Washington.

“We do have out of today’s conversation an agreement in principle to hold a virtual bilateral (summit) meeting before the end of the year,” the US official told reporters.

Both sides described the meeting as a follow-on from President Joe Biden’s early September call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, prior to which the world’s top two economies appeared to have been locked in a stalemate.

Biden’s call with Xi in September ended a nearly seven-month gap in direct communication between the leaders, and the two discussed the need to ensure that their competition does not veer into conflict.

Biden said on Tuesday that he spoke to Xi about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the “Taiwan agreement”, as tensions ratchet up between Taipei and Beijing.

Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern part of its air defence zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday, the same day China marked a patriotic holiday, National Day.