Biden And Xi Jinping Agree To Hold Virtual Summit Before End Of Year

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed “in principle” to hold a virtual summit before the end of the year, Axios reported Wednesday.

Biden and Xi had a discussion by phone in September, where both leaders agreed to uphold the “Taiwan agreement” in which China maintains non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the U.S. agrees that there is only one sovereign Chinese government.

Tensions between the United States, Taiwan, and China have been mounting following Biden’s mismanaged withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan. China cited the withdrawal to taunt Taiwan in early September saying Taiwan could not count on U.S. support if China were to invade.

President Joe Biden takes off his face mask he meets with NATO Secretary-General during a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021. – The 30-nation alliance hopes to reaffirm its unity and discuss increasingly tense relations with China and Russia, as the organization pulls its troops out after 18 years in Afghanistan.

Dates for the virtual summit have not yet been announced, however, national security adviser Jake Sullivan is set to meet with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi this week. It will be the second in-person meeting between Sullivan and Jiechi.

The Chinese military deployed 52 warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, an unprecedented number since Taiwan began reporting such information in 2020.

The aircraft included 34 J-16 fighter jets, two Su-30 fighter jets, 12 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, two Y-8 anti-submarine warplanes, and two KJ-500 airborne control planes belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force, according to a statement from Taiwan’s defense ministry

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed U.S. support for Taiwan during Monday’s press briefing.

“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” Psaki said. “We have been clear privately and publicly about our concern about [China’s] pressure and coercion toward Taiwan, and we will continue to watch the situation very closely.”

“We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan. And we have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. That’s why we’ll continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability,” she added.