Following the release of details of a major UK-Australia submarine deal aimed at countering China, US President Joe Biden said he expected to speak with the leader soon Chinese Xi Jinping. However, he did not specify when exactly.
Asked by a reporter if he was concerned that Beijing would view the sale of submarines to AUKUS members as an aggressive move, Biden replied, “No.” The US president also said he was not going to speak with Xi Jinping anytime soon.
In mid-February, Biden said he wanted to speak to Xi about the incident with a Chinese reconnaissance balloon that flew over US airspace. However, the conversation never took place.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said last week that the United States wanted to re-establish regular contact with China, and Biden expected to speak to Xi Jinping by phone sometime after returning to work. of the Chinese government after the conclusion of the National People’s Congress. .
The AUKUS deal to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines is aimed at countering China in the Indo-Pacific region, and Beijing has seen it as an illegal act of nuclear proliferation.
“Competition requires dialogue and diplomacy,” Sullivan told a group of reporters last week, referring to China.
“For 18 months, we have been communicating with (China) about AUKUS and asking them for more information on their intentions,” Sullivan added, referring to China’s military buildup, including nuclear submarines.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Xi Jinping planned to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. The report said the call would likely come after Xi Jinping visits Moscow next week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, Sullivan told reporters en route to San Diego that Washington had publicly and privately encouraged Xi Jinping to talk to Zelenskyyy so they would hear “not just the Russian perspective” on the war. Sullivan added that Ukraine had not confirmed the phone conversation between Xi Jinping and Zelenskyyy.
