WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has begun preparations for a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, which could take place next month in San Francisco, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. citing senior US administration officials.
According to one of the officials, quoted by the newspaper, the possibility of a meeting was “fairly firm”.
“We are beginning the process” of planning, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Chinese Embassy in Washington nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November 2022 in Indonesia.
Relations between the world’s two largest economic powers have become strained in recent years, due to a range of issues, including the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, customs taxes, Taiwan and, at the start of year, with the destruction of an alleged Chinese spy balloon above American territory.
Since then, with the aim of easing tensions, several high-level meetings have taken place between the two camps. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, visited China in June, followed the following month by the Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, then, in August, by the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo.
(Reporting Jasper Ward; French version Camille Raynaud)
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