Virtual Summit Between US and Chinese Presidents

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US President Joe Biden is expected to hold an awaited virtual summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, US media reported, as tensions mount over Taiwan and trade. 

Both CNN and Politico, citing unnamed sources, said the meeting was tentatively scheduled for Monday.

Relations between the world's two largest economies have deteriorated in recent weeks, in particular over Taiwan.

Washington has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese activity; however, the US and China reached a surprise agreement on climate at a summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

JUST IN: The much-anticipated virtual summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping is tentatively scheduled for Monday evening, according to sources https://t.co/hrcSPhGqcn@nahaltoosi@PhelimKine

— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) November 10, 2021

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the two presidents, who have not met in person since Biden took office in January, will hold virtual talks "soon."

Biden and Xi have talked by phone twice since the Democrat moved into the White House. The pair also met extensively when Biden was serving as vice president to Barack Obama and Xi was vice president to Hu Jintao.

The US president had hoped to meet Xi at a recent G20 summit in Rome, but the Chinese leader has not traveled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and instead agreed to virtual talks by the end of the year.

On Thursday, Xi warned against a return to Cold War-era divisions in the Asia-Pacific, in remarks to a virtual business conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by New Zealand.

"Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds are bound to fail," he said.

"The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era."