Biden-Xi virtual summit: US president warns nations must not ‘veer into open conflict’
2021-11-16 10:14:27 source：The Guardian
November 15, 2021
Joe Biden has begun a virtual summit with Xi Jinping by saying that they both had a responsibility to ensure the rivalry between their two nations did not “veer into open conflict”.
The video conference meeting between the two leaders, expected to last about two hours, represents their most substantial discussion since Biden took office in January, and comes at a time of particularly high tension.
There is growing apprehension of a confrontation over the fate of Taiwan, and over freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The meeting also comes against a backdrop of global outrage over China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim population and Hong Kong, and a proliferation of cyber attacks the US has blamed on China. There are also deep divisions over what each country should do to mitigate the climate emergency, and the US is increasingly nervous about the rapid development of Chinese conventional and nuclear military forces.
Read more: