White House official: there’s an understanding between US, China to convene a summit
A White House official confirmed on Wednesday that there is a preliminary agreement between the United States and China to arrange a summit between their respective presidents later this month.
The official emphasized the importance of ensuring there is no misunderstanding with Beijing regarding the plan.
Emilie Simons, the deputy White House press secretary, stated, "I don't want to get ahead of where we are in the logistical planning process, but we have agreed to a meeting in principle.”
She also mentioned that close coordination with the Chinese government is ongoing to finalize the arrangements.
During President Joe Biden's trip to Minnesota, Simons spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One and emphasized that both countries are in sync regarding the significance of leader-to-leader communication in managing their bilateral relationship.
Last week, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, held meetings with President Biden, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Following these discussions, which spanned approximately 10 hours over two days, both sides expressed their commitment to working towards a summit between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. This meeting is slated to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum's leaders' meeting in mid-November in San Francisco.
However, Chinese officials, including Wang, have been cautious in their statements about the proposed face-to-face talks between the two presidents, indicating that more work needs to be done to address differences on key issues before the summit. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday refrained from confirming whether a basic agreement on the Biden-Xi summit had been reached with the United States.
