Reuters: “U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to hold a virtual summit on Monday, sources said, amid tensions over trade, human rights and military activities. Washington and Beijing have been sparring on issues from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to China’s expanding nuclear arsenal. U.S. officials believe direct engagement with Xi is the best way to prevent the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies from spiraling toward conflict. read more
“Beijing is also keen to avoid confrontation and focus on ‘positive competition,’ while pushing for cooperation on issues such the climate crisis and ending the coronavirus pandemic, said one Chinese official.
“A framework deal on boosting cooperation to tackle climate change, unveiled by the world’s two largest economies at the U.N. climate conference in Scotland, sent ‘quite a positive signal’ for the upcoming summit, the official said.”