Biden and China’s Xi to hold virtual summit Monday: reports

President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be holding a virtual summit on Monday, sources told Reuters.

The meeting would come as the U.S. and China have been clashing over Taiwan and human rights for Uyghur Muslims.

It would be the first time since September that the leaders have spoken with one another, and the first meeting between the two since Biden was inaugurated in January, according to CNN.

One Chinese official said the country will be focusing on “positive competition” in the meeting rather than confrontation, seeking common ground with the U.S. on issues such as climate change and the pandemic, according to Reuters.

“We view U.S.-China competition like a golf game, where each side focuses on its own better performance, not like a boxing game, where both sides try to knock each other out,” the official said.

The summit comes after Xi published a statement through the Chinese embassy Tuesday expressing China’s willingness to “enhance exchanges and cooperation” with the U.S., CNN reported. It also follows the release of a joint statement from the two countries Wednesday announcing a shared commitment to stepping up actions against climate change this decade.

Biden has pushed for an in-person meeting with Xi, but the Chinese president has not left China since the pandemic began.

The two administrations agreed to this virtual summit, in principle, last month. “​​We have an agreement in principle to have a virtual bilateral meeting before the end of the year. Working-level discussions are under way to confirm details,” a senior administration official said at the time, per Reuters.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.